A growing number of American adults have developed an unusual allergy to meat and other animal products due to the bites of an aggressive tick species according to a new report from Insider.
People with alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) typically report allergic reactions, from hives and stomach troubles to full-on anaphylaxis, hours after eating pork or beef. The symptoms might seem random for individuals who have never had issues with meat in the past, but scientists have identified a common thread: the lone star tick.
Experts have been studying the tick connection since 2009 when the first cases of AGS were described in medical literature. Researchers figured there must be a common inciting event that caused the allergy to develop, especially given that early cases were clustered in the Southeastern US.
The lone star tick is a common pest in the region, accounting for more than 90% of tick bites in the Southeastern states by some estimates. The species has spread up the Eastern seaboard and to the Midwest in recent years, leaving cases of AGS in its wake.
Amy Shea contracted the disease after a Lone Star tick bit her while on an outdoor adventure, CNN reported. The condition has forced Shea to completely restructure her life taking measures such as reading every label on food and product packaging—from soaps to makeup.
The allergy is so severe, that the mere smell of meat from a barbecue or restaurant can send her body into shock. She told the news station: “I took a bite of the roast and about an hour later I started having stomach issues and hives all over my legs. I went to the ER and was in full anaphylactic shock by then.
“The most difficult part is not being able to go out with my family. They all went out to dinner last night and I stayed home.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AGS is a severe allergy to a sugar molecule found in the cells of most mammals but not humans and other great apes called galactose-alpha-1, 3-galactose, or simply alpha-gal.
