More Americans becoming allergic to red meat due to tick bites

Irish Examiner

a day ago

More and more Americans are becoming allergic to red meat due to lone star tick bites.
Between 2010 and 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were more than 110,000 suspected cases of this alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) identified in the United States.
The CDC estimates 450,000 people might have been affected during that time, but never sought medical care.
The lone star tick is unique in that it can transmit a molecule that causes the alpha-gal syndrome allergy.
More Americans are finding this out, as the tick is found in more northern states, due to warming temperatures.
Unlike most allergic reactions, the alpha-gal reaction is delayed, usually appearing several hours after exposure to red meat (and related products). Typical allergic reactions include hives, swelling, wheezing. Some people may also experience abdominal cramping and pain, diarrhoea, and nausea.
While some may have only mild symptoms, about 60% of patients experience anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.
Over-the-counter antihistamines may be sufficient treatment for some. But a patient should seek immediate medical care for more severe reactions, and may need to carry a device to inject epinephrine, to protect against a subsequent reaction.
There is no cure, and the allergy may last for one to five years.
Some of those affected can eat red meat because the reaction (such as itch) is tolerable, but others will require emergency treatment, due to shortness of breath and other symptoms. For them, it is best to avoid red meat (but chicken and fish are fine).
The lone star tick can also transmit the ehrlichiosis bacterial illness, southern tick–associated rash, tularemia, or the rare heartland virus disease and bourbon virus disease.
Professor Brandon Hollingsworth at the University of South Carolina has warned millions of Americans could end up with an allergy to meat.
And it is no surprise to some that the anti-meat lobby has embraced the spread of the lone star tick, even though the allergic reaction it causes can be fatal.
It's an irresistible topic for anti-meat social media and blogs. However, eyebrows have been raised after a science journal called Bioethics published a presentation headlined 'Beneficial Bloodsucking' by two researchers at Western Michigan University which stated "promoting the proliferation of tick-borne alpha-gal syndrome is morally obligatory".
They said: "Herein, we argue that if eating meat is morally impermissible, then efforts to prevent the spread of tick-borne AGS are also morally impermissible."
Among those to react was Frédéric Leroy, the Belgian food scientist well known in Europe as a champion of traditional food practices.
He said: "Universities sure have some psychopaths in their ranks these days."
Indeed, Parker Crutchfield and Blake Hereth of the Western Michigan University, and the Bioetchics journal, may have gone way over the top, because the lone star tick spreads tularemia, and up to 1% of cases are fatal unless treated quickly with antibiotics.
That's according to the respected Cleveland Clinic international health system. The clinic says alpha-gal syndrome and the anaphylaxis it can cause are also potentially fatal.
Alpha-gal syndrome victims must avoid not only beef, lamb, goat, venison, rabbit, buffalo, or pork, but milk, cream, ice cream, lard, cheese, and some food additives, along with personal care products including collagen, lanolin, gelatin, or glycerin.
People with the syndrome may also react to products with carrageenan, often used to thicken and preserve food and drinks such as nut milks, meat products and yogurt.
Certain pig or cow heart valves, surgical mesh or certain vaccines, and the cetuximab cancer drug, may also trigger alpha-gal allergic reactions.
Furthermore, for some older victims, the first alpha-gal syndrome is a heart attack.
Also embracing the spread of the lone star tick and alpha-gal syndrome is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). It has published the Lone Star Tick Cookbook, guaranteed full of tick bite allergy-proof recipes.
But researchers Crutchfield and Hereth go much further, proposing genetically modifying ticks to spread alpha-gal syndrome, because they believe eating mammalian meat is morally wrong.