14-05-2025
The tick-borne disease turning MAGA-supporters vegan
'As I sit here eating my sad, mushy oatmeal with only organic strawberries and maple syrup, I'm disappointed that it isn't bacon and eggs or a big juicy steak,' laments Tiffany, a young mum from deepest Kentucky writing on Facebook.
'I've tried the plant-based meats and they are so horrible. I feel so cheated – I'd kill for a hamburger,' adds Paula, her profile photo showing her dressed in full camouflage while out riding a horse.
Both women are part of a US online community for people living with Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS) – a tick-borne illness colloquially known as the 'red meat allergy'.
The number of cases has exploded in recent years, with warmer temperatures caused by climate change bringing ticks to new areas and helping them to survive all year round. More than 30,000 Americans are now thought to be infected every year, up from around 4,000 only 15 years ago.
The syndrome, mainly caused by the bite of lone-star ticks, leads to a life-threatening allergy to certain animal products including beef, pork, lamb, and dairy. With few treatment options available, those diagnosed are forced – often begrudgingly – to adhere to a strict, plant-based diet.
Most cases have been detected in MAGA strongholds like Tennessee, Texas, and Kentucky – places where red meat is a way of life and veganism is treated with the same scepticism as the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop.
'I had someone tell me he felt less Southern because he couldn't have barbecue,' said Dr Scott Commins, an allergist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he currently treats around 3,500 AGS patients.
The disease is triggered when a tick bites a human and transmits a sugar known as alpha-gal into the bloodstream. Ticks pick up alpha-gal when they feed on mammals like mice, rabbits, or deer – animals in which the sugar occurs naturally.
If the tick later bites a human, it can inject those sugars through its saliva. Because humans don't naturally produce alpha-gal, the immune system sees it as a threat and starts producing antibodies to fight it.
The dietary complications arise because alpha-gal is also found in red meat and some dairy products; so once the immune system is primed, eating foods like beef, pork, or lamb can trigger an allergic reaction, typically between four to six hours after eating.
The most common symptoms include hives, headaches, and stomach problems. In more severe cases, patients can go into anaphylactic shock, a potentially fatal allergic reaction that requires immediate treatment with an EpiPen.
Not everyone who gets bitten will develop the allergy, but for those who do, even a small amount of red meat can trigger a reaction.
'You might eat a hamburger at six in the evening and feel fine – then wake up at midnight covered in hives. That delayed response makes the condition difficult to diagnose,' Dr Commins said.
The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that around 450,000 Americans in total are now living with AGS.
'The range of these ticks is completely expanding. So what was at one point a southeastern US tick is now all the way up on our east coast to the Cape Cod area, like Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, but then also West to the Central US,' Dr Commins said.
While most people naturally recover within three to five years, many will be continually reinfected because of exposure to ticks due to their work or way of life, he said.
'I would say probably only 15-20 per cent of my patients recover because they spend a lot of time outdoors – either working on farms or riding horses, doing hobbies that take them outside – and it may take nothing more than one tick bite every other year to keep the immune system producing that allergic response to Alpha gal,' he said.
On average, it takes around seven years for a person to be formally diagnosed, due in large part to a lack of awareness among doctors and the public.
The outlook – ironically, given his penchant for burgers – has only been made worse by the Trump administration's recent slashes to the CDC's workforce and budget.
'We've been working on trying to raise awareness with the CDC to create a campaign for patients and then also for healthcare providers, but that's now been put on hold,' said Dr Commins.
There are some new and promising treatment options, however.
The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approved a new drug, Xolairz, in February of 2024 that is showing promising results among AGS patients.
The drug is taken every month via an injection, and works by blocking immunoglobulin, an antibody involved in allergic reactions.
'It's pricey, but it really does seem to work well to block reactions to red meat that occur accidentally and keeps people safer,' said Dr Commins.
The main way to prevent and control AGS, however, is targeting tick populations.
'We haven't really done much to try and target ticks and drive down population numbers,' said Dr Commins.
'We have interventions with mosquitoes and other kinds of disease-vectors. We don't yet know much about the lone star tick and it's really under researched.'
Meanwhile the apparent spread of veganism in MAGA country has already been taken up by conspiracy theorists, who smell a government plot to put them off their meat.
'Do you think Covid vaccinations helped this explode? It taught our bodies to attack and put our immune system into overdrive. I have always gotten bit by ticks. Why now?' writes Greg, another unwilling vegan whose grill is now gathering dust.
Paula suggests smoking an aubergine, instead.
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