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Rising incidences of tick bite-induced "red meat allergy" [1]

['Jason Weisberger']

Date: 2025-08-05

Alpha-gal syndrome is an immune system misfire developed after being exposed to a tick bite. It is rapidly spreading across the United States and globally.

Alpha-gal syndrome is actually an allergy to a sugar molecule with a tongue-twisting name: galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, shortened to alpha-gal.

The alpha-gal sugar molecule exists in the tissues of most mammals, including cows, pigs, deer, and rabbits. But it's absent in humans. When a big dose of alpha-gal gets into your bloodstream through a tick bite, it can send your immune system into overdrive to generate antibodies against alpha-gal. In later exposure to foods containing alpha-gal, your immune system might then launch an inappropriate allergic response.

…

Once you have alpha-gal syndrome, it's possible to get over the allergy if you can modify your diet enough to avoid triggering another reaction for a few years and also avoid more tick bites. But that takes time and careful attention to the less obvious triggers that you might be exposed to.

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/08/05/rising-incidences-of-tick-bite-induced-red-meat-allergy.html

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