It’s nearly peak tick season and bites from the bugs may come with dangerous consequences for meat lovers — and everyone exposed.
Three species are associated with a red meat allergy that can manifest in response to a bite, researchers found recently.
The allergy is known as alpha-gal syndrome, which is also a potentially life-threatening condition. Scientists think that the sugar molecule certain tick species carry, called alpha-gal, gets into people’s bodies, can disrupt their immune systems, and lead to a possibly deadly allergic reaction.
Previously, it was believed that lone star ticks, which are found east of the Rocky Mountains, were the only species capable of triggering the disease.
“It was a very surprising finding to us,” Hanna Oltean, an epidemiologist at Washington State Department of Health, told Science News on Tuesday.
Oltean was the corresponding author of a study published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The study described the 2017 case of now-retired wildlife biologist Cathy Raley, who woke up with hives and later stopped being able to swallow at her home in Washington state.
Another study detailed a similar incident in 2022 when a 45-year-old Maine woman discovered a western black-legged tick on her left bicep after walking on a wooded path. Nearly 10 days after the bite and following a meal of roasted rabbit, the unidentified subject began to experience abdominal pain. That pain continued after eating red meat.
“A severe episode of diarrhea and vomiting hours after beef consumption prompted the patient to visit a healthcare provider 20 days after the tick bite,” the study’s authors said. The woman was able to resume eating red meat ten months after her first symptoms.
The tick that had bitten her was a deer tick. There are dozens of species found across the United States.
“U.S. health and public health professionals should be aware of AGS outside the established lone star tick range,” the researchers warned.
Even among healthcare providers, alpha-gal syndrome is not very well-known. There have been about 110,000 suspected cases across the U.S. from 2010 to 2022. However, researchers think that may be an undercount. Delayed symptoms can also make it hard to diagnose.
Developing alpha-gal can cause a serious allergic reaction called anaphylaxis that can be deadly without treatment with a shot of prescription medicine called epinephrine, also known as adrenaline.
There’s no cure for the condition, and reducing exposure is the best defense against tickborne illness.
Oltean says ticks commonly come out and seek “blood meals” between March and May. However, warmer temperatures driven by climate change have meant ticks appear earlier, stay later, and thrive in a wider geographic range.
“It’s important for people to be aware of the risk so that they can take appropriate precautions,” Oltean said.
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