Time to move beyond Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease because
now ticks are threatening to take away enjoyment of red meat by delivering a
bite that develops into an allergy to the dietary staple.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Ticks are
becoming strong candidates for public enemy number one as evidence emerges that
a particular variety can cause with one bite allergies to eating red meat. To
the chagrin of meat smokers, grillers, and consumers in the Southwest and now
increasingly in the Northeast U.S., the Lone Star tick is biting people and
turning thousands of them sick after eating beef, pork, or lamb.
It turns
out that the Lone Star tick, whose scientific name is Amblyomma americanum,
carries in its gut a sugar called Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, or Alpha-Gal
for short. When it bites a person and begins feeding on blood, it delivers Alpha-Gal
into the host’s blood stream where it normally does not appear. The person’s
immune system may then recognize the circulating Alpha-Gal molecules as
xenobiotics, or foreign molecules, and mount a response that includes the
production of antibodies against Alpha-Gal.
The
problem then manifests as an allergy to red meat because red meat contains
Alpha-Gal. Once it is in the stomach, Alpha-Gal can trigger an immune response
in anyone with anti-Alpha-Gal antibodies already present. Hallmark symptoms where
not present before include skin reactions such as hives, swelling, or itching.
Worse, some may experience vomiting or diarrhea within four to six hours,
possibly even anaphylactic shock after consuming the meat.
As the
ticks invade Eastern Seaboard states like North Carolina and Virginia and
advance into the Northeast, the number of cases of this rather bizarre
condition rises into the thousands. Experts at Vanderbilt University Medical
Center advise that there is no treatment or cure for the allergy, making
prevention the best medicine. Residents are advised to follow time-worn
precautions against tick bites, including wearing long pants and sleeves,
checking for ticks frequently, and using insect repellent whenever outdoors.
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