Alpha-Gal Diagnoses Rise 15 Years After Tick Link as Meat Allergy Spreads With Tick Range
Updated
Updated · Euronews · Jun 15
Alpha-Gal Diagnoses Rise 15 Years After Tick Link as Meat Allergy Spreads With Tick Range
3 articles · Updated · Euronews · Jun 15
Summary
Alpha-gal syndrome is being diagnosed more often as doctors and patients increasingly recognize the tick-bite-triggered allergy, which can cause life-threatening reactions to mammalian meat and sometimes dairy.
Certain ticks inject alpha-gal sugar through the skin, prompting antibodies that later attack the same sugar in beef, pork and other mammal-derived foods; seafood, poultry and eggs are not affected.
Up to 6 hours can pass before symptoms appear, making the condition hard to trace; reactions range from rash and stomach distress to anaphylaxis, breathing difficulty and shock.
A blood test for IgE helps diagnose the syndrome, but experts say symptoms must also match because false positives occur; in about 15% to 20% of patients, the allergy can fade after several years.
Expanding tick habitats are also driving cases, with the Lone Star tick the main North American vector and some European ticks linked less often, underscoring the need to avoid further bites.