The Tick That’s Becoming More Prevalent in RI Could Cause a Red Meat Allergy
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
There’s a species of tick that’s becoming more prevalent in the Northeast — that has the potential to cause a serious meat allergy.
One Rhode Island man said he believes it was a lone star tick bite last summer that caused him to go into anaphylactic shock when he ate a beef burrito in the weeks following — and now he says he can’t eat meat or even wear wool.
Alpha-gal Syndrome (AGS) — also called alpha-gal allergy, red meat allergy, or tick bite meat allergy — is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). AGS may occur after people eat red meat or are exposed to other products containing alpha-gal.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Growing evidence suggests that AGS may be triggered by the bite of a lone star or blacklegged tick,” the CDC continues. “More research is needed to understand the role ticks play in triggering this reaction, and why certain people develop AGS.”
A University of Rhode Island expert said the lone star tick is well established in Rhode Island — and spreading.
“It used to be black-legged ticks on Long Island [that were the issue] in the 1980s and now the lone star tick has set up shop in some fairly metropolitan areas, including Staten Island,” said URI’s Dr. Thomas Mather.
“This tick is definitely is definitely on the inroads here,” said Mather of it in Rhode Island. “It’s a sad thing. It’s a much more aggressive biter.”
One Man’s Story
Warwick resident Jonathan Alvarez told GoLocal that on July 4 of 2020, he went blueberry picking in Coventry with his son — and noticed a tick on his arm two days later.
“The tick had become engorged — I just pulled it out,” said Alvarez, who said he took a photo to teach his Cub Scouts what to look for. “From that point, I was on the lookout for a bullseye indicative of Lyme disease. I didn't get a prophylactic dose of antibiotics though.”
“Two months later, I was eating a beef burrito and went into anaphylactic shock and almost lost consciousness in the emergency room,” said Alvarez. “The spot where the tick bit me was the first spot to pop up like a turkey timer. It was also the last spot to return to normal. A tick specialist in North Kingstown indicates that is also common with Lyme disease sufferers to have the source of muscle ache point to the tick bite.”
“Before I passed out for four hours I told the attending physician that I had been bitten by a tick and was tracking the spot for a Lyme bullseye,” he said. “When I came to, they said they thought I had a ‘red meat allergy’ which came from the lone star tick -- and asked if I'd been in Texas — which is not why it's called the lone star Ttck; it's because of its markings.”
Alvarez said he then went searching for answers.
“I had to then search for an allergist and available appointment to hear my ER visit and prognosis and request the specific IGE test for mammal meat. I then went to see top allergists Dr. David Katzen and Dr. John Zwetchkenbaum,” he said. “Both of them only had four patients with this. They said only in the last two years had all of these cases popped up."
Alvarez said he only knows of a handful of people around Rhode Island who have exhibited symptoms of Alpha-gal Syndrome, and that he has joined a Facebook support group.
“I’m not eating meat. I’d lost a bunch of weight before on the keto diet. Cutting out mammal meat, venison, and some dairy has made that diet difficult,” he added. “Within my circle of friends, they knew this was the most heinous thing to happen to a carnivore. I went to a wedding party where carnivores responded by “saying no way you got the red meat allergy - that would be the death of me!"
“Some people can’t wear wool,” he added. “I have regular weekly bouts of itchy palms that I can't trace to anything in particular. To eliminate the threat of another bout of anaphylaxis, I won't wear wool sweaters or scarves since the natural mammal oils may cause a reaction.”
Alvarez said he has to be careful in other areas as well.
“3 out of the 4 annual flu vaccines -- you can only take one or two of these with non-mammal ingredients,” he said.
“I’m an outdoors person. I have brought Cub Scouts [to Coventry] all the time,” said Alvarez, of having had to make major adjustments to his lifestyle — and what he says could happen if bitten again. “If you get bitten a second time the reaction is reported to be additive in nature.”
Expert on Record
URI tick expert Mather cautioned that not everyone bitten by a lone star tick would develop Alpha-gal or a meat allergy — and said that scientists are still learning more.
“The IGE antibody tests, Alpha-gal stimulates that — but having IGE [antibodies] doesn’t mean someone's necessarily got Alpha-gal or will have an anaphylactic reaction to eating meat,” he said. “There’s rare instances of a meat allergy with other tick ties.
“Alpha-gal is in mammals. Ticks feed on mammals, and what gets processed back — that sugar that gets transmitted back — it could be processed differently by different types of ticks,” said Mather. “It seems more common with lone star tick. But Alpha-gal allergy is just one of many that cause red meat allergies.”
Mather said that in his research, he has been “overwhelmed” by lone star ticks on Prudence Island — where there are a high number of both deer and rabbits.
“The lone star ticks have been on Prudence, and seemed to have been limited there and then they jumped to Jamestown,” he said. “They’re notorious for feeding on deer.”
Mather, who said he has been bitten multiple times by lone star ticks and has never had a problem with meat, encouraged people to be more tick savvy.
“People should really check out our website, TickEncounter,” said Mather, of the information and tracking tool. “We get thousands of listings across the country.”
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