Increase in Ticks Triggering High Rate of Meat Allergy

Posted: July 31, 2023 9:45 am

A new red-meat allergy triggered by tick bites has impacted thousands of Americans, prompting the country’s leading public health agency to take notice. Here is what you need to know about this growing concern of ticks.

CDC Highlights Dangers of Meat Allergy Caused by Ticks

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that there are now over 110,000 suspected cases of the condition, known medically as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), in the U.S. between the years 2010 and 2022.

Not only do individuals with AGS develop the allergy to red meat but they can also be at risk of a number of life-threatening side effects.

The exact number of cases is difficult to pin down because of a lack of testing. As such, the CDC cautioned that up to 450,000 Americans may have been impacted over the last 12 years. This data was revealed in two CDC reports included in the recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The report said that AGS is an “emerging public health problem,” detailing that the severe impacts could last a lifetime for those affected. Part of the problem is that many healthcare providers are not familiar with the condition and how to diagnose it.

The CDC said that nearly 50% of respondents to a survey of medical professionals indicated that they were not aware of the condition.

Root Cause of AGS

As more is being discovered about AGS, it is becoming clear that the allergy is largely the result of the bite of a lone star tick. However, while this type of tick is most commonly associated with the condition, the CDC said that it has not yet ruled out infection by other classifications of tick bites.

The lone star tick is most prevalent in the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic, and the South. These are also the parts of the county with the highest rate of AGS.

Alpha-gal is a specific type of sugar that is found in the meat from mammals that humans consume. This includes beef, pork, and lamb. The sugar is also found in animal by-products, including milk, gelatin, and some pharmaceutical treatments.

Symptoms of AGS

The allergic response associated with AGS typically happens within 2 to 6 hours of ingesting a product with the sugar. This differs from other types of food allergy symptoms that usually show up immediately after consumption. The slower response to this allergy is blamed on the fact that it takes longer for the body to digest meat and release the sugar.

Some of the most commonly reported symptoms include nausea and vomiting, hives, itchy rash, heartburn, indigestion, severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, shortness of breath, cough, low blood pressure, dizziness, and swelling of facial body parts.

Experts warn that many of the most commonly reported symptoms of AGS mimic irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), making it difficult to separate the two conditions.

AGS is most easily diagnosed through the use of an allergy blood test administered by a healthcare provider.

Tick Bite Reports on the Rise as Temperature Soars

Unfortunately, the weather this summer is not doing anything to mitigate the spread of AGS. Officials on the various state levels have reported a widespread increase in tick bites and sightings as the temperatures continue to soar across the U.S. Tick season typically runs from April through October.

Warmer than normal temperatures in some parts of the South in the winter months gave the season a jump start and it has not looked back. The warmer than average weather supported the growth of more vegetation, providing ideal habitats for ticks to reproduce.

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