What is alpha-gal syndrome? New Jersey man is first known fatality from meat allergy caused by ticks

A New Jersey feather has died after eating a hamburger, become the first known fatality from a meat allergy that’s caused by tick bites.The 47-year-old victim suffered from alpha-gal syndrome, a rare but increasingly common disease spread by bites from the lone star tick.According to researchers at the University of Virginia, the otherwise healthy airline pilot was on a camping trip with his wife and children last summer when he ate steak for dinner — and woke up hours later with stomach discomfort, diarrhea and vomiting so severe he was writing in pain.He recovered, but two weeks later, hours after eating a hamburger, he collapsed and ultimately died at a hospital.A growing number of cases of Alpha-gal syndrome — a rare but potentially life-threatening illness that makes people violently allergic to red meat — suggest that more tick species may be to blame than initially thought.Scientists consider lone star ticks the main AGS culprit, but these new cases shift the blame to deer and western black-legged ticks.This new evidence raises concerns about the spread of AGS, particularly in regions like Long Island, where ticks are a growing problem.AGS is a serious allergic reaction triggered by a sugar molecule called alpha-gal, which is found in most mammalian meat.When certain ticks bite humans, they can transfer alpha-gal into the bloodstream, causing their victims to develop a severe response to red meat consumption.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 450,000 people in the US have alpha-gal syndrome.Cases have been increasing since 2010, according to the agency.Most people develop symptoms two to six hours after eating red meat products such as beef, pork and lamb.

Some common symptoms include: Most AGS cases are reported in areas the lone star tick calls home, such as the southern, midwestern and mid-Atlantic US.The CDC has previously singled out Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Suffolk County, New York, as places where the ...