A rare red meat allergy is reportedly usually associated with a bite from the lone star tick, and may also be caused by other tick species discovered across the US.
A professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health stated, “Alpha-gal syndrome is relatively rare, but those who have it can have a full-on anaphylactic shock.”
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The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projected approximately 450,000 people in the US are suffering from this condition.
Most cases are associated with the lone star tick, which is commonly found in the Southeast and lower Midwest.
However, a new case has been reported from Maine and Washington state where two women who contracted alpha-gal syndrome after being bitten by ticks in places where lone star ticks are scarce.
It indicates that other kinds of ticks such as the black-legged tick that transmits the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, causing Lyme disease, and the western black-legged tick, may also cause this allergy.
Alpha-gal syndrome symptoms may include stomach pain, nausea, hives, and glossitis.
NBC News reported that the best way to protect yourself is to avoid tick bites. Use bug spray with DEET, avoid wearing short clothes and keep checking your body for ticks after being outdoors in wooded areas.
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