Did you know that a tick bite could cause you to be allergic to red meat? Dr. James Diaz with LSU Health New Orleans said when a Lone Star tick bites a human it can transmit chemicals from animals they feed on and one of those chemicals is Alpha-gal.
“You may develop antibodies against Alpha-gal and since Alpha-gal is in all red meat, you may develop an allergy to red meats. That includes beef and pork and lamb,” said Diaz.
He said in the US it’s spread by a Lone Star tick, which has a white spot on its back, that feeds predominately on White Tail Deer.
Diaz said if you’re infected you could have a severe allergic reaction after eating red meat and there have even been cases of anaphylactic shock.
“You wake up at midnight with a scratchy throat and difficulty breathing. You go to the emergency room you get a shot maybe of epinephrine and you feel fine but after that, you have another hamburger or a steak, and the same thing happens,” said Diaz.
Fortunately, it’s very rare that humans are infected, and the majority of cases spread by the Lone Star Tick are in Virginia and surrounding states but there have been a few cases in Louisiana. Diaz said it can also be contracted from gelatin, which is made from animal byproducts.
“Some people develop an allergy through gelatin. Some people develop an allergy because they’ve been given certain monoclonal antibodies to treat things like Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease that have been developed in mice,” said Diaz.
Diaz said they began recognizing cases of Alpha-gal in the US back in 2015 and that cases were first reported in Australia.
To read an article on Alpha-gal by Dr. James Diaz click here.
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