Tick Bites May Mean 450,000 Americans Can’t Eat Red Meat
News outlets cover startling data that suggest up to 450,000 people in the U.S. may have developed the potentially life-threatening alpha-gal syndrome after being bitten by ticks. AP notes cases of tick-borne illnesses are on the rise globally, possibly because of climate change.
The Washington Post:
Tick-Linked Meat Allergy May Be Far More Common Than Previously Known
Up to 450,000 people in the United States may have developed a rare and potentially life-threatening tick-associated allergic condition that is triggered when eating red meat, according to federal health data released Thursday. Alpha-gal syndrome, sometimes known as red-meat allergy, is caused when a tick bites a person and injects a sugar molecule found in its saliva. (Sun, 7/27)
CIDRAP:
CDC: Allergy Caused By Tick Bites On The Rise, But Clinicians In The Dark
Despite growing incidence, in a survey of 1,500 US healthcare providers (HCPs), 42% said they had never heard of the condition. Among those who had heard of the condition, 35% said they were not confident in their ability to diagnose the allergy, and only 55 clinicians (6%) said they had treated 5 or more alpha-gal patients. (Soucheray, 7/27)
More on ticks —
AP:
Cases Of Tick-Borne Illnesses Are On The Rise. Some Experts Believe Climate Change Is The Cause
In 2022, doctors recorded the first confirmed case of tick-borne encephalitis virus acquired in the United Kingdom. It began with a bike ride. A 50-year-old man was mountain biking in the North Yorkshire Moors, a national park in England known for its vast expanses of woodland and purple heather. At some point on his ride, at least one black-legged tick burrowed into his skin. Five days later, the mountain biker developed symptoms commonly associated with a viral infection — fatigue, muscle pain, fever. (Teirstein, 7/27)
Undark:
A New Approach To Stopping Ticks — With An Old Drug
A team of scientists working within the Connecticut state government has found a new application for something ivermectin was always good at: killing parasites that live in or on animals. In a small study, they found that feeding deer corn dosed with an ivermectin derivative builds up enough drug in their blood that ticks biting them will (probably) die. ... Before we go any further: This is not an argument for eating ivermectin to protect yourself against the 16 different diseases that ticks carry. (McKenna, 7/25)
