TICKED OFF
Two women rushed to hospital with mystery illness after eating red meat – as scientists warn thousands more at risk
Symptoms of rare reaction to red meat to know - and how common it is in the UK
TWO women were rushed to hospital with a mysterious illness after eating red meat.
Neither of them had suffered from food allergies before, but one was struck by a life-threatening allergic reaction just hours after her meal, while the other suffered vomiting and diarrhoea.
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It was revealed that both women - from Maine and Washington in the US - had been bitten by ticks about a month before developing the bizarre symptoms.
Ticks are tiny, spider-like creatures that latch onto animals and humans and suck on their blood.
Usually active in warmer months, they're known for carrying infections like Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
But in rare cases a tick bite can cause people to develop an allergy to red meat.
Read more on tick bites
This is known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), and scientists believe hat most cases are linked to the lone star tick, a species typically found in the Eastern, Southeastern, and South-Central US.
But the two women's cases suggest that other tick species found elsewhere in the country may also trigger potentially life-threatening allergic condition.
Between 2017 and 2022, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported about 90,000 suspected cases of AGS - with the number of new suspected cases increasing by about 15,000 each year.
The agency estimates as many as half a million Americans have AGS.
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Its map of suspected cases shows high concentrations in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee as well as Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.
But the women, whose cases were discussed in two new CDC reports, were bitten in spots that lone star ticks don't tend to frequent - meaning many more people could be at risk of AGS.
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The first was a 61-year-old wildlife biologist living in Washington, on the East Coast of the US, who "had no exposure to areas with known lone star ticks within the previous 30 years", according to the report.
She went into anaphylactic shock - a dangerous allergic reaction - 29 days after being bitten by a tick on her shoulder while walking her dog in a wooded area in 2017.
She'd tried to remove the tick, but the bite had become infected and she'd gone to the emergency department.
Weeks later, the 61-year-old broke out in hives and began wheezing as her tongue and throat swelled, six hours after eating beef tacos.
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The symptoms struck again after she ate sausages and a ham sandwich and she called 911 and was treated in hospital.
She tested positive for alpha-gal antibodies, indicating that she had AGS.
She was told to stop eating meat and avoid milk and gelatin.
Unlike Lyme disease, which is caused by a virus, AGL is an immune reaction to alpha-gal, a sugar found in most animals, including cows, horses, deer and rabbits, which also can be present in tick saliva.
Symptoms of AGS
Alpha-gal allergy is an unusual type of food allergy that can start with a tick bite.
It involves an allergic reaction to a carbohydrate known as alpha-gal which is found in the muscles of mammals.
Allergy to alpha-gal is rare in the UK.
When alpha-gal gets into your bloodstream, the immune system responds and makes antibodies that mark the alpha-gal molecule as ‘foreign’.
The next time you eat meat from mammals such as lamb, beef or pork - but not poultry such as chicken or turkey - the body’s immune system wrongly identifies the alpha-gal in the meat as a threat.
When this happens, the body releases chemicals, such as histamine, in response.
The symptoms of alpha-gal allergy are usually delayed, appearing three to eight hours after eating.
Mild to moderate symptoms may include:
- A red raised rash (known as hives or urticaria) anywhere on the body
- A tingling or itchy feeling in the mouth
- Swelling of the lips, face or eyes
- Stomach pain or vomiting
In more serious cases, people can also experience anaphylaxis, whose symptoms include:
- Swelling in the throat, tongue or upper airways (tightening of the throat, hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing).
- Sudden onset wheezing, breathing difficulty, noisy breathing.
- Dizziness, feeling faint, sudden sleepiness, tiredness, confusion, pale clammy skin, loss of consciousness
Not all species of ticks can cause alpha-gal allergy. Most known cases have been linked to the lone star tick which is found in southern and eastern areas of the United States.
Cases of alpha-gal allergy have also been reported in many other countries including the UK, Australia, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Japan and South Africa, and involve different species of ticks.
Source: Anaphylaxis UK
For some people, being exposed to alpha-gal through a tick bite triggers an antibody response in the body, causing them to develop an allergy to meat that can take weeks to months to appear.
The wildlife biologist reported being bitten by ticks twice more in 2020 and 2022, with tests revealing she had elevated alpha-gal levels after both.
"Had the patient not switched to a vegetarian diet, clinical experience suggests that the rise in IgE titer might have increased her chances of having an allergic reaction after red meat consumption," the report stated.
The woman's third bite was from an Ixodes pacificus tick, also known as the western black-legged tick, indicating the critter might also be linked to AGS.
"Although the genus Ixodes has been associated with AGS in Australia, Scandinavia, and Europe it has yet to be conclusively linked with AGS in the United States," the CDC wrote.
"Commercial laboratories have documented alpha-gal IgE in samples from patients residing outside of the known range of lone star ticks, including in several western US states.
"Although those persons might have traveled, the possibility of local exposure cannot be excluded.
"However, observed AGS incidence in those areas appears low relative to the high number of reported Ixodes tick bites."
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Second case
The second woman, a 45-year-old from Maine, in the Northeast of the US, discovered a tick on her left bicep after walking through a wooded path.
She removed it but nine days later she was struck with stomach pain and malaise just two and a half hours after eating roasted rabbit.
After that first incident, she’d get sick a for few hours after she ate any type of red meat.
"A severe episode of diarrhoea and vomiting hours after beef consumption prompted the patient to visit a healthcare provider 20 days after the tick bite," the CDC wrote in a report.
Tests showed elevated alpha-gal levels and the woman was told to avoid eating beef, pork and lamb.
She also cut out dairy after suffering from nausea and stomach discomfort from ice-cream and milkshakes.
Her symptoms resolved but she found two more ticks within two months of the initial episode.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
When she tried to eat bacon three months later and steak seven months after that, she experienced heartburn.
However, 10 months after her first tick bite, she was able to eat steak and roast beef with no symptoms and she returned to eating red meat.
How dangerous are ticks?
By Isabel Shaw, Health Reporter
Ticks might be small, but they pack a big punch when it comes to health risks.
The tiny critters can harbour nasty diseases that affect both humans and animals.
From Lyme disease to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) the list of tick illnesses is extensive and can lead to serious long-term issues if not caught early.
The bloodsucking nats often latch onto their hosts while they’re out in the wild searching for their next meal.
It's worth bearing in mind that most ticks - especially those found in the UK - don't pass on diseases to humans. But it always pays to be cautious.
Ticks are most active in England from April to July but can be active all year round.
It’s important to check for ticks after spending time in grassy or wooded areas and to take preventive measures to avoid their bites.
To protect yourself from ticks, you can:
- Wear protective clothing like long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and socks or boots that are tucked in. Light-colored clothing can help you spot ticks
- Use insect repellent on exposed skin, such as your legs and hands. You can also treat your clothing and gear with permethrin-containing insecticide
- Avoid tick-prone area like wooded or brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter. When walking, keep to footpaths and avoid long grass
- Check for ticks, this includes areas like under the arms, behind the knees, and in the hair
- Shower after being outdoors
- Check your pets and make sure they don't bring them into your home