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Why are so many people getting a meat allergy?

It is early morning in early summer, and I am tracing my way through the woods of central North Carolina, steering cautiously around S-curves and braking hard when what looks like a small rise turns into a narrow bridge. I am on my way to meet Tami McGraw, who lives with her husband and the youngest of their kids in a sprawling development of old trees and wide lawns just south of Chapel Hill. Before I reach her, McGraw emails. She wants to feed me when I get there:

“Would you like to try emu?” she asks. “Or perhaps some duck?”

These are not normal breakfast offerings. But for years, nothing about McGraw’s life has been normal. She cannot eat beef or pork, or drink milk…

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Featured

 What the Mystery of the Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Could Reveal

Unraveling why tick bites are suddenly causing a strange reaction in some people who eat meat could help scientists better understand how all allergies work.

Articles of Interest

‘I Have Alpha Gal Syndrome, The Meat Allergy That Can Develop After Getting A Tick Bite

I understand that researchers and medical professionals still have a lot to learn about AGS—it was only first discovered in 2009, after all. Hopefully in the future, doctors will have a much better understanding of this condition and perhaps some better treatment options for us, too.

A tick bite that makes you allergic to red meat

Normally, humans aren’t affected by a bite from Ixodes holocyclus – better known as the paralysis tick. But in some cases, it can trigger a dangerous and rare allergy to red meat.

Cracking the meat-allergy mystery with the tick-bite link

An unusual reaction to mammalian meat is challenging the immunological understanding of allergies.

Do You Have Red Meat Allergy?

In the United States, you probably got bitten by a Lone Star tick, which sensitized you to alpha-gal. But alpha-gal allergy is a global problem, with cases in Europe and Australia, where it is triggered by other species of ticks. Dr. Scott Commins, a University of North Carolina researcher, wonders if there are other blood-sucking insects that could also trigger the allergy, like mosquitos, but so far this is just a question to research. Currently under study: figuring out why some people bitten by Lone Star ticks get the allergy, while others don’t.

Rare Meat Allergy Caused By Tick Bites May Be On The Rise

Some people are allergic to peanuts, others to shellfish, fruits, or wheat. But this rare allergy is a carnivore's worst nightmare: A tick bite that can cause a case of itchy red hives every time you eat meat. Yup, get bit by one of these buggers and you may be saying farewell to your filet Mignon. For some people around the country, this is no nightmare, it's a reality – and it may be coming to your neck of the woods.

Red-meat allergies might be caused primarily by ticks, not the deer blood they transmit

To some, especially the average American, it might seem like a curse: All it takes is bite of a tiny tick to trigger an allergic reaction to steaks, burgers, and pork.

The Meat Allergy: What’s It Like?

One day you enjoy a hamburger with no problem and the next time you eat one you have a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Scary stuff, huh?

Tick bites that trigger severe meat allergy on rise around the world

‘Tick-induced mammalian meat allergy’ reported in Europe, Asia, Central America and Africa but most prevalent in parts of Australia and the US.

Ticks spread plenty more for you to worry about beyond Lyme disease

Maybe the most bizarre threat from ticks is the “red meat allergy” scientists have recently traced back to tick bites. People can become allergic to eating meat when a tick’s saliva passes on the carbohydrate galactose-α-1.3-galactose it had previously picked up in a blood meal from an animal. If prone to allergies, the person can get sensitized to that alpha-gal molecule that’s found in animal blood and other tissues.

Ticks That Can Make People Severely Allergic To Meat Are Spreading In The U.S.

Interviews with doctors suggest the Lone Star tick, and the allergy to sugars in red meat that it can cause, is on the rise.

Ticks that cause red meat allergies are spreading, and invasive fire ants may be our best hope

The insects are an unlikely ally against the lone star tick.

Ticks That Spread Red-Meat Allergy

If Lyme disease isn't reason enough to avoid ticks, here's another: the inability to enjoy a burger. Odd as it seems, researchers say that bites from the voracious lone star tick are making some people allergic to red meat—even if they've never had a problem eating it before.

Why People With Meat Allergies Should Care About The First-Ever Approved Genetically Modified Pigs

But, how exactly could people allergic to meat benefit from modified pig meat? The pig meat would be free of the alpha-gal compound, Business Insider explains.

Resources

CDC

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) (also called alpha-gal allergy, red meat allergy, or tick bite meat allergy) is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. AGS may occur after people eat red meat or are exposed to other products containing alpha-gal.