What You Need to Know About the Tick That Can Cause a Meat Allergy
The number of ticks and tick-borne diseases has been on the rise for many years . While we usually think of Lyme disease when we think of ticks, there are many other problems that can be caused by a tick bite, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever . Another, less well-known condition: mammalian meat allergy, which can result from the bite of a lone star mite .
What are solitary ticks and where do they live?
Single ticks once lived primarily in the southeastern United States, but now their range includes the entire east coast and much of the Midwest. Iowa is on the edge of the tick range; According to this CDC map , Nebraska, Texas, and New York are partly within its boundaries.
Due in part to climate change, tick ranges are increasing and are more likely to survive the winter when the weather is warmer, increasing the tick population each year. The ticks are also literally clinging to the growing deer population.
Single ticks are large for a tick, crawl quickly, and their bites are painful. This is in contrast to the black-legged ticks known as Lyme disease, which are smaller and whose bite you may not even notice.
All mites feed by burrowing their heads into your skin and sucking blood until they fill up like a balloon. If you find a tick on yourself, remove it with tweezers or a tick remover . Do not burn his cigarette butt with a burnt match; it actually increases the chance that it can make you sick .
Single ticks can also transmit ehrlichiosis, tularemia, heartland virus, and STARI . But by far the strangest thing about them is their ability to cause meat allergies.
How can a tick bite cause a meat allergy?
First, not every single star tick bite causes an allergy. It is perfectly normal to be bitten by a tick and not have any lasting effects. But among people with what’s called an alpha-gal allergy, most of them started experiencing symptoms shortly after being bitten by a lone star mite.
There are other mites that can cause this allergy, including mites native to Europe and mites native to Australia. In the US, meat allergy has so far been associated only with a lone tick.
What is alpha gal and how can we be allergic to it?
An allergy occurs specifically to a compound called galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, or alpha-gal for short. It’s sugar, but you won’t find it in sugary foods like fruits. It is produced by animals and attached to proteins. Red meat, which consists mainly of protein, contains a small amount of alpha-gal. (Not enough to register sugar on a nutritional label; it’s really less than a microscopic amount.)
Almost all mammals produce alpha-gal, and alpha-gal is found in their meat and milk, with one major exception: primates (such as humans and monkeys) do not produce this substance. This means that our immune system can recognize alpha-gal as an invader.
Something about the bite of a lone tick (and some other ticks) can trigger our immune system to attack alpha-gal, and since mammalian meat contains alpha-gal, including beef, lamb, venison and (although this is not considered red meat) pork – as a result, there is an allergy to the meat itself.
The exact mechanism that causes allergy is not fully understood. One hypothesis is that ticks receive alpha-gal containing proteins from other mammals they bite (like mice and deer) and then pass them on to us when they bite. But there’s also the possibility that the tick’s saliva itself is the trigger.
What is it like to be allergic to alpha-gal?
The hallmark of alpha gall allergy is that you sometimes get allergy symptoms such as itching, swelling, and potentially anaphylaxis (which can be fatal) three to eight hours after eating meat. You may also experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain. Alpha-gal allergy is most common in people who spend a lot of time outdoors, such as hunters and hikers, and often people remember a painful tick bite before they had symptoms.
If you think you may be allergic to alpha gal, tell your doctor and get a prescription for epi pen. Allergy to alpha gals is rare, and especially if you don’t live in the Southeastern United States, your doctor may not consider testing for it. People with an alpha-gal allergy may find that they only have a reaction sometimes when they eat meat, but when it does, it can be severe and anaphylaxis can be fatal.
Alpha-gal allergy can be diagnosed with a blood test that looks for anti-alpha-gal IgE antibodies. (Skin prick tests, used to test for other types of allergies , can give a false negative result. Postal blood tests use a completely different type of antibody and are unreliable .)
Although mammalian meat is the most common trigger, some people are so sensitive that they need to avoid dairy products (especially high-fat dairy products that contain more alpha-gal) and other animal products such as gelatin. Some medical devices can also be a problem; the blood thinner heparin and the chemotherapy drug cetuximab contain alpha-gal. (If you’d like to learn more, this article provides guidance for doctors and people with alpha-gal allergies.)
While allergies are considered lifelong, they can get better or worse over time. A second tick bite can temporarily worsen symptoms. Alcohol and exercise also aggravate symptoms. On the other hand, you can eat as much chicken, turkey, and fish as you like.
How can I protect myself from being bitten by a lone star tick?
Similarly, you protect yourself from being bitten by other ticks:
- Check yourself for ticks after going outside. (At least take a shower.)
- Consider coating your shoes and pants with permethrin, an insect repellent spray that lasts for several washes.
- Apply a good bug spray when you are outdoors, especially on your ankles and legs.
If you are bitten by a tick, remove the tick with tweezers or a tick remover. Ask your doctor what to do next, as this decision will depend on what part of the country you are in and what diseases or risks you face. It is impossible to prevent an alpha-gal allergy if you have already been bitten, but other tick-borne diseases are possible. Always seek medical attention if you are bitten by a tick and then develop a fever or other symptoms.