Latest news with #AlphaGalSyndrome
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Experts sound alarm over a rise in a mysterious tick-borne illness spreading across America
If you've recently been bitten by a tick, you're at risk of a deadly new allergic condition. Alpha-Gal Syndrome, or AGS, causes a red meat allergy in humans. It is triggered when a person is bitten by a tick - most commonly the lone star tick - that carries the alpha-gal sugar. When the tick bites someone it injects the sugar into the person's body and causes the immune system to develop antibodies that attack it. Alpha-gal molecules are also found in the meat of most mammals, including pork, beef, venison and other red meats, as well as milk, gelatin or other animal products. When a person eats these foods, the body detects the alpha-gal and attacks it. This immune response can lead to a life-threatening allergic reaction. According to the CDC, approximately 110,000 cases have been documented since 2010, but because of underreporting or misdiagnoses, the true number could be as high as 450,000. And numbers are growing, experts warn, as temperatures rise and ticks survive milder winters. Health officials have said they are not aware of any confirmed deaths from AGS, but there is a risk if the allergic reaction becomes severe. Brandon Hollingsworth, a tick expert at the University of South Carolina, told The Guardian: 'We thought this thing was relatively rare 10 years ago but it's become more and more common and it's something I expect to continue to grow very rapidly.' Cases have been predominantly in southern, midwestern and mid-Atlantic regions of the US, but recent testing on human and tick samples suggests millions more Americans could be at risk because the tick that causes AGS is spreading to new geographical areas. Additionally, it's been found the condition is increasingly being passed on to humans by new species of ticks. Laura Harrington, a disease specialist at Cornell, added: 'With their adaptive nature and increasing temperatures, I don't see many limits to these ticks over time.' According to Allergen Insider, symptoms not only come from eating red meat but in more severe cases people reported that they experienced symptoms after just inhaling fumes of mammalian meat being cooked. AGS may not show symptoms immediately, which is why it is difficult to link the allergy to a tick bite. After consuming meat it can be between two to six hours before any symptoms appear. And they can vary widely, including hives or an itchy rash, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, dizziness, stomach pain and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue, or eyelids. The Lone Star Tick bite is largely responsible for the condition, and can be found in the southeastern US, but they are slowly spreading north with rising temperatures. In a recent case study, a 61-year-old woman experienced two major allergic reactions brought on by Alpha-Gal Syndrome after eating beef and pork tacos. During her first experience, 29 days after a tick bite, she developed hives and swelling but her mild symptoms resolved with over-the-counter allergy medication. But during her second episode a month later, her tongue swelled so much that she could not speak and was rushed to the hospital, as her blood pressure dropped dangerously low and heart rate increased rapidly. She was given epinephrine - the typical treatment for allergic reactions - but her symptoms worsened and her throat began to close. The woman was then given steroids and by the time she arrived at the hospital her condition began to improve. While she originally reported no significant event preceding either allergic reaction, in later interviews she said about a month before the first episode she had been bitten by a tick and was treated with an antibiotic. To prevent AGS, experts recommend checking for ticks after spending time outdoors. If you discover a tick bite, quickly remove the tick, disinfect the area, and monitor yourself for symptoms. They also stress the importance of increased surveillance of AGS and the types of ticks people acquire the condition from as ticks and states that historically have not posed the risk of AGS are increasingly being traced as the source. Hollingsworth said: 'We've seen an explosive increase in these ticks, which is a concern. I imagine alpha-gal will soon include the entire range of the tick, which could become the entire eastern half of the US as there's not much to stop them. 'It seems like an oddity now but we could end up with millions of people with an allergy to meat.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Alpha Gal Syndrome on the rise in the Mountain State
GHENT, WV (WVNS) — A different kind of tickborne disease is on the rise in West Virginia. Alpha Gal Syndrome cases are becoming more and more common as awareness spreads and people begin to get the proper diagnosis. Snake season: What to do if you find a snake in your yard There are a variety of tickborne diseases that affect people in the Mountain State, and you have probably heard of most of them. One of the most common is Lyme disease, which is spread by deer ticks. However, one you may not know much about, although it can have lifelong consequences, is Alpha Gal Syndrome. Dr. Zonaira Gul, an Infectious Disease Consultant for Beckley Appalachian Regional Healthcare, said Alpha Gal Syndrome is spread by a specific molecule. 'It's not found in primates, like humans and chimpanzees. So, when mammals, when the tick transmits this molecule to human beings and the human beings, you know, the people eat red meat, suppose at dinner time people eat red meat, and after a few hours, they start to develop allergic reaction,' said Dr. Gul. Dr. Gul said unlike a typical food allergy, the Alpha Gal reaction can take a few hours to show symptoms. But when it does, the symptoms are similar to a normal food allergy. You will experience itching, rashes, nausea, and in severe cases, shortness of breath. Dr. Gul said the allergy does not just extend to beef, the most commonly thought of red meat, either. 'Unfortunately, people who have, who eventually develop this allergy, they are advised to completely avoid meat, red meat. From beef, you know, avoid beef, lamb, pork meat, and products actually acquired from these mammals, so like, milk.' said Dr. Gul. Dr. Gul said gelatin is another product to be avoided if the reaction is especially severe. Spotted lanternflies are in West Virginia: What to know She said prevention is the only way to avoid Alpha Gal Syndrome as currently there is no cure for this disease. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
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.
