There’s a tick in Virginia that can make you allergic to red meat, and it found me while I was hunting spring gobblers.

By Emily Strother

It’s a fact that ticks and hunters are drawn to the same places—where there’s abundant wildlife, vast spaces to roam, and the raw scent of nature when the wind blows in the springtime. Speaking from experience, it’s almost impossible to get through a season without having a few stuck to me.

Each time I slipped into the woods to turkey hunt, I did my best to protect myself from ticks. Knowing that there was a growing prevalence of the red meat allergy among the Virginia hunting community I knew, I felt vulnerable each time I walked through the woods. Despite my effort, I wasn’t immune to their desire to bite me. But I suppose we’ve got to take risks to do things we love sometimes.

In 2019, I contracted a red meat allergy–known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) or allergy—from a tick bite I got while hunting turkeys that spring. As a gal who enjoys hunting and experimenting with wild game in the kitchen, realizing that I could no longer consume venison or other mammal meat was a hard pill to swallow. Besides a fried piece of deer tenderloin over the woodstove, who doesn’t love a tender piece of filet mignon every now and then?

What is Alpha-gal?

Alpha-galactose (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) is a carbohydrate that is present in all mammals except higher primates, such as apes and humans. This carbohydrate is present in mammal meat such as beef and pork, but more importantly for hunters, it’s present in wild game including venison, elk, bear, rabbit, squirrels, and other game we pursue here in Virginia. Alpha-gal is not found in fish, reptiles, birds, or people.

Dr. Jonathan Mozena, a board-certified allergist and immunologist, said that AGS is where an individual develops an allergy to the carbohydrate present in mammal meat. This is unique because most other allergies—such as a peanut allergy—are an allergy to a protein found in a particular food.

“Alpha-gal is unique because it’s an allergy to a carbohydrate and not a protein. If a person is allergic to beef, that same individual will react to pork, lamb, bear, deer, and so forth,” he said.

Another unusual characteristic of the allergy is that while most food allergies occur within minutes of eating, that’s not the case with AGS. Allergic reactions to alpha-gal tend to be delayed by nearly four to eight hours. The first time I experienced a reaction was almost eight hours after I ate a hamburger.



According to Dr. Mozena, it’s believed that alpha-gal is mostly found in the fatty tissue of the meat, and fatty tissue typically gets absorbed into the lymphatic system first before entering the bloodstream.

“The way fats get absorbed in the body is different from the way proteins do,” he said. “It takes several hours for fats to get through the lymphatic system, whereas proteins get absorbed into the bloodstream immediately. The transit through the lymphatic system is what likely accounts for the delay of the alpha-gal from entering the bloodstream.”

Despite these differences, AGS presents the same reactions as other allergies, including hives, itching, a drop in blood pressure that can cause dizziness, chest tightness, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, vomiting, and in some severe cases, anaphylactic shock and uterine cramping.

The Transfer of Alpha-gal to a Human

It was presumed that ticks feed on the blood of other mammals, such as deer, and would transfer the alpha-gal molecule once it latched on to a human. But there’s new speculation that a tick itself can produce an alpha-gal-like structure.

“There is a current theory that ticks make alpha-gal themselves. Studies have shown that some ticks carry alpha-gal in their saliva and intestinal tract,” said Dr. Mozena. Though, this theory isn’t fully developed yet.

While the lonestar tick is the most known tick to carry alpha-gal in the U.S., there are other ticks worldwide that likely carry alpha-gal. Studies have also shown that even chiggers can likely carry alpha-gal.

The good news, at least for some, is that not everyone will develop an alpha-gal allergy after being bitten. Mozena said there is likely something genetically different about those who contract the allergy.

“There are millions of tick bites each year, but not millions of cases,” said Mozena. “Being genetically predisposed creates a perfect storm to develop the allergy. There may also be a third thing that has to happen beyond the genetic predisposition and the tick bite that we don’t understand yet.”

It’s also unclear whether a tick can immediately infect a person once it latches on. Mozena said he sees a steady stream of patients, most often diagnosing patients with the allergy in the summer and fall, but it’s not always clear how long it takes for the patient to be exposed. Currently, he treats around 40 to 50 patients annually with AGS.

Other Hunters, Looking Forward, and Prevention

I’m not the only hunter to have the “perfect storm” that results in the alpha-gal allergy. Randy Feehan, a hunter from Central Virginia, says it was only about a week after he was bitten by a lonestar tick while deer hunting on the Eastern Shore of Virginia when he started noticing initial reactions after he ate venison.

“I would break out in hives, wheeze, and my eyes would get really swollen,” said Feehan. Feehan still has AGS nearly a decade later, and it’s changed his hunting habits, as it has for me.

“Not being able to eat wild game was big for me, because I wasn’t able to eat what I was hunting,” said Feehan, referring to deer. “This allergy has turned me into more of a turkey hunter because I can eat it, so I focus on that more. I focus more on bird hunting in general.” Despite not being able to consume venison himself, Feehan said that he still sometimes hunts deer and provides meat for others. Unfortunately, his father and uncle, who also hunt, also contracted AGS.

The good news for those who have AGS is that the allergy typically recedes over time. “For many people, if they aren’t bitten by another tick for a while, the level of alpha-gal [present in the blood] typically drops and they can be reintroduced to red meat,” said Mozena.

Ongoing research is being conducted to better understand the risks associated with AGS. While there is currently no treatment for AGS, simply being aware and taking precautionary measures to avoid tick bites is vital to protect yourself this season.

Turkeys don’t have great sniffers. As you prepare for the season, make sure to use bug spray and permethrin on your hunting clothes (always read proper handling directions before use), and check yourself for ticks immediately upon returning from your hunt. Otherwise, you could need to alter your harvesting to suit a new diet.

https://dwr.virginia.gov/blog/...ing-spring-gobblers/

Damn. There’re a lot of things I could give up without too much effort. Red meat would not be one of them.

Allergic to red meat? I hate nature.

The ticks are already terrible here since we had a mild winter. Found 3 of them on the dogs this morning. My 6 year old got Lyme's and 2 other tick borne diseases from one tick bite last summer. Luckily we caught it very early but the symptoms were quite scary.

They said I had Lyme disease back in the early 90's but I had no symptoms. The specialists wanted big bucks to treat you so I bought several books on Lyme disease.

Turns out that you need a strong immune system and I was already taking most of the recommended vitamins.

The ticks now are a lot smaller and you don't see them until you feel an itch. I put Tea Tree Oil on them which suffocates the tick and sterilizes the area.

The book that listed the vitamins to cure Lyme Disease was:

The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments: Defeat Lyme Disease with the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine.

https://www.amazon.com/Top-Lym...ipbooks%2C136&sr=1-1

I sure don't like ticks. Got the only one I've ever had on me last year, picking up soda cans the kids from the Church toss in a brushey tree line. It had its head bored into my upper leg. Smarted a bit getting it off me. Had a little red spot which went away after 2 weeks. Just had a Dave's Double so am good to go. I no longer hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
Just had a Dave's Double so am good to go.

Maybe, maybe not... article states normal reaction time of 4-8 hrs.

My hunting buddy was diagnosed with AGS from a lone star bite this last fall.

Not only red meat but almost anything produced from a hooved animal will trigger a severe reaction. Think about all the other things we consume from them, cheese and fat/lard just off the top.

He made the mistake early on having hard shell tacos with turkey meat. The fat from the fried taco was enough to send him to the ER. Now ha carries an Epi-pen, as it could be life threatening very quickly.

This guy is the white tail master, of all people to suffer from this. Has really pushed his focus to anything that flies. He is getting ready to run hard at trout this year too.

As said previously make sure you are spraying down, tucking, layering, and checking methodically after being out in the woods or fields.

I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.


-Jeff

The standard treatment for Lyme disease is oral antibiotics for 3-4 weeks. The sooner the better.


https://www.mayoclinic.org/dis...eatment/drc-20374655

That would suck, I really like red meat, humans not so much. I contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever years back in a Tennessee State Park near Ft Campbell (where I was stationed in the Army). I didn’t have the telltale spots so when I arrived at the ER, I had the worst flu symptoms of strong aching muscles, migraine like headache, nausea, and general swelling all over like the Michelin Tire Man. I got really lucky they treated me with the right antibiotics while hospitalized. They spinal tapped me and poked and prodded and still thought maybe I had mononucleosis and hepatitis of some sort. That’s the diagnosis they released me with anyway. A few weeks later I followed up with my own Dr and he did some follow up blood work. It was RMSF. Apparently they can’t detect it until a few weeks after infection. That was not fun but at least I can still consume red meat.

Son-in-law has this condition now. Makes choosing a restaurant limiting.

I have a close friend who was diagnosed with AGS last year. She consulted a local Internal Med doc who also performs accupuncture. I was more than skeptical, but in about two weeks, she had no more dietary restrictions.

I know we all react differently to diseases and cures, but if you diagnosed with AGS, it might be worth a try.

The Wall Street Journal article.
========================================

Ticks, and Their Diseases, Spread Out

BY BRIANNA ABBOTT

People won’t stop mailing ticks to Griffin Dill.

They come in zip-lock bags, plucked from pets, hikers and homeowners from across Maine. Mr. Dill, manager of the Tick Lab at the University of Maine in Orono, said that there used to be a lull from around mid-December to March. Now the ticks are showing up year-round.

More ticks are arriving from farther north in the state, and about two-thirds of them are found around people’s homes. Mr. Dill tests the parasites for infectious diseases including Lyme and babesiosis, a flulike illness that can range from asymptomatic to life-threatening. Mr. Dill and his colleagues are also testing for diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever that aren’t common in Maine.

“We wanted to make sure we’re testing for the pathogens we know are here and the ones that might be knocking on our doorstep,” Mr. Dill said. The lab isn’t finding Rocky Mountain spotted fever, he said, but there have been increases in the prevalence of Lyme and babesiosis over the past five years.

Ticks are on the move in the U.S., thanks in part to expanding deer populations and a warming, more hospitable climate. Some mosquito populations and the diseases they carry such as West Nile have also spread. The shift is exposing more people to new infectious disease threats.

John Aucott has watched the geographic expansion of tick-borne diseases over the past two decades reflected in the patients who come to see him. When he arrived at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Lyme disease was mostly a coastal disease. Now, it is in eastern Ohio and West Virginia, he said.

“People get told there is no Lyme disease in West Virginia. Well, that is changed,” said Dr. Aucott, director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center.

Cases of tick-borne disease reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than doubled in the U.S. between 2004 and 2019, when some 50,800 cases were reported. Lyme disease makes up the majority of tick-related infections, CDC data show. Cases are also significantly undercounted, with reported cases of Lyme accounting for less than 10% of the estimated yearly infections, according to the CDC.

The tick that carries Lyme disease, the deer tick or blacklegged tick, lives throughout the eastern U.S. The number of counties where blacklegged ticks are established has more than doubled in the past two decades, according to CDC researchers. Lone star ticks, which can cause a red-meat allergy known as alpha-gal syndrome in people they bite, are moving up from the Southeast. “As the climate changes, so does the habitat of where the ticks feel comfortable,” said Nicole Baumgarth, director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Research and Education Institute within the Bloomberg School of Public Health. “It is critical that we get a handle on the risk in various parts of the country.”

Regrowing forest in the Northeast and the surging U.S. deer population, a main host for traveling ticks, have helped drive the expansion, researchers said. People are building homes deeper into the woods, increasing the chances for tick encounters in backyards or playgrounds.

Shorter, warmer winters have lengthened the time ticks can be active, as places including New England and the upper Midwest become hotter and wetter. Many ticks and mosquitoes need a warm, humid climate to thrive.

“These are really good conditions for ticks to grow,” said Lyle Petersen, director of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases at the CDC.

Babesiosis, also carried by the blacklegged tick, has become more common across the Northeast. Some 16,400 cases were reported across 37 states between 2011 and 2019, according to a March CDC report. It was endemic in seven states in the Northeast and Midwest in 2011. Now, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have been added to that list.

More cases of alpha-gal syndrome, the red-meat allergy, have also started appearing farther north in places including Long Island, where lone star ticks that harbor the virus weren’t found until recently, Dr. Petersen said.

When Mary Black was told by an allergist that she should be tested for alpha-gal syndrome, she had never heard of it. The 37-year-old nurse and Oklahoma resident had been experiencing repeated bouts of facial swelling, hives and joint pain since summer 2022 with no discernible explanation. She was diagnosed in February and is adjusting to cutting out red meat and other mammal products.

“I honestly feel the lack of education is making a huge impact. My primary-care provider had never heard of it,” Mrs. Black said. “If you look at the map of where alpha-gal or the lone star ticks are, the line goes right through where I live.”

People should remove ticks with tweezers and clean the bite area and their hands with soap and water or rubbing alcohol, the CDC says. Ticks can be flushed down the toilet or put in a sealed container to be sent for testing.

The CDC doesn’t generally recommend antibiotics after tick bites to prevent disease. People should consider talking to a doctor if Lyme or other tick-borne diseases are common where they live and watch for symptoms including rashes, fatigue or fever.

Some mosquito species and the disease they carry are also on the move. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is capable of harboring viruses including yellow fever and dengue, has invaded cities in the southern U.S. West Nile virus, carried by the culex mosquito, is endemic across the country, after first being introduced in the late 1990s.

Wearing long sleeves, using bug spray, doing tick-checks and showering soon after being outdoors can help prevent tick and mosquito bites, the CDC says.

LINK

https://naomedical.com/blog/me...after-covid-vaccine/


Meat Allergy After COVID Vaccine: What You Need to Know
Updated on June 4, 2023

As more and more people receive the COVID vaccine, reports have emerged of a potential link between the vaccine and the development of meat allergies. While this link is still being studied, it’s important to understand what we know so far and how you can protect yourself.

What is a Meat Allergy?

A meat allergy is an immune response to a specific protein found in meat. Symptoms can range from mild (hives, itching) to severe (anaphylaxis). The most common protein that triggers a meat allergy is alpha-gal, which is found in red meat like beef, pork, and lamb.

What is the Link Between the COVID Vaccine and Meat Allergies?

Some people who have received the COVID vaccine have reported developing a meat allergy, specifically to alpha-gal. While the link is not yet fully understood, it’s believed that the vaccine may trigger an immune response that leads to the development of the allergy.

What Should You Do if You’re Concerned?
If you’re concerned about the potential link between the COVID vaccine and meat allergies, it’s important to speak with a healthcare provider. At Nao Medical, our team of experts can help you understand the risks and benefits of the vaccine, and work with you to develop a plan that meets your individual needs.

Book an Appointment with Nao Medical Today

Don’t let a meat allergy ruin your summer BBQs. Book an appointment with Nao Medical today to discuss any concerns you may have about the COVID vaccine. Our team of experts is here to help you stay healthy and informed.


Can the COVID vaccine really cause a meat allergy?
While the link is still being studied, there have been reports of people developing a meat allergy after receiving the COVID vaccine. If you’re concerned, speak with a healthcare provider.

What are the symptoms of a meat allergy?
Symptoms can range from mild (hives, itching) to severe (anaphylaxis). If you experience any symptoms after eating meat, seek medical attention immediately.

What should I do if I think I have a meat allergy?
If you think you have a meat allergy, speak with a healthcare provider. They can help you determine the cause of your symptoms and develop a treatment plan.

Ticks? Fuck those things, and the mosquitoes they flew in on.



We were inundated with them earlier this year. I've treated the lawn twice so the grandkids can play outside on the grass but we're still checking them every time they come in.

I've had about 5 or 6 on me so far this year, but only one got a good hold. A dab of vaseline followed by triple antibiotic settled his hash!

A friend from my childhood got that crap a few years ago and it makes every day for her a coin flip whether she’s fine or enduring her own private hell. I put repellant on my socks and such in hopes of escaping such a horrible condition.