![]() who were not familiar with the condition. There have been cases reported on every continent (except Antarctica), and doctors say other types of ticks, beyond the Lone Star tick, may cause the syndrome.Ī report in the New England Journal of Medicine, documents the case of a 47-year-old man in Ann Arbor, Michigan who stumped doctors in the E.R. It was a confirmation that her diagnosis had been correct, and that avoiding these foods was an effective treatment.Ĭases of alpha-gal syndrome have been concentrated in southeastern states, but the range extends from New York and Iowa to Texas and Florida. They also reported getting sick again if they went off the elimination diet. She found that patients who had eliminated red meat told her they felt better. People who get multiple tick bites (four or more) and spend a lot of time outdoors in wooded areas are at higher risk.Įarly in the pandemic, when her endoscopy lab was shut down, she had time to do some research and check in with patients she'd diagnosed with AGS. Alpha-gal can be found in beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, deer meat as well as other products from mammals including milk and gelatin, according to the CDC.Ĭommins has published a new research paper on tick bites and the risk of developing the alpha-gal allergy. Then, after a person is sensitized to alpha-gal, they can get a reaction every time they eat red meat. "Our immune system can be tricked into making an allergic response to this sugar," says Commins. When tick saliva goes through a person's skin and transmits alpha-gal it can be a potent inflammation trigger. Scott Commins, an allergist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Humans don't make alpha-gal, so it's foreign to us, explains Dr. It can also be found in the saliva of ticks. He remains symptom-free after several years on the diet.Īlpha-gal is a sugar molecule found in most mammals, including cows, lambs and pigs. But after suffering through such painful episodes, "I don't miss them that much," he says. "I miss bacon, I miss hamburgers, " Rayborn says. McGill advised him to eliminate all red meat from his diet. "I'd never heard of it," Rayborn says, so he was very surprised. ![]() ![]() A blood test showed he had Immunoglobin E, or IgE antibodies to alpha-gal, the sugar molecule that he was exposed to from the tick bites, suggesting he was positive for the allergy. When he had a similar attack a few weeks later, he went to see his doctor, who referred him to McGill. Scientists first connected the dots between red meat allergies and tick bites more than a decade ago, when they identified patients who got allergic reactions such as hives or anaphylaxis after eating beef or pork. There have been more than 90,000 suspected cases documented between 20, yet nearly half of clinicians have never heard of the condition, according to a pair of CDC reports released on Thursday.īecause many providers aren't aware of alpha-gal syndrome, or AGS, which also requires a diagnostic test, the agency estimates that as many as 450,000 people may have been affected since 2010. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that alpha-gal syndrome - a tick-borne illness that causes a red meat allergy - is an emerging public health concern. The Lone Star tick is thought to be primarily responsible for an allergy to red meat, but other ticks can't be ruled out. A Lone Star tick (middle) flanked by a deer tick (left) and a dog tick.
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