Immunologists have found an increased rate of meat allergy induced by the lone star tick. There isn’t much data on how the allergy is triggered or why the immune system triggers it, but there are worrisome reasons that urge healthcare agents to caution people that are bitten by this tick to carefully monitor any sort of joint or muscle pain or other signs of allergy.
This Tick Bite Triggers Red Meat Allergy
In the past 20 years, there have been increasing reports of people that, after a lifetime worth of meat eating, developed sudden meat allergy. And as Summers has set its sails, MDs and other health agents worry that the number of such cases will increase.
The reason for which this particular tick bite triggers red meat allergy is that red meat contains some protein-linked saccharides, among them the galactose-α-1,3-galactose. The alpha-gal is the main ingredient in triggering the meat allergy. This tick bite triggers red meat allergy which poses a life threating danger, as individuals can develop specific symptoms which, if not treated in due under specialized care, can kill them.
All that the researchers know is that the ticks feed on deer. When they bite humans, their victims are exposed to the alpha-gal allergen, which is found in the deer blood still present in the tick. This is what Andrew Nickels, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and an allergist at ASAP, said.
“A susceptible human’s immune system then develops molecules called IgE that are specific to the alpha-gal allergen. Once this occurs, they are prone to have allergic reactions”, he further said.
The alpha-gal syndrome is a recent discovery, having less than 10 years of research behind it. The tick bite allergy has been more tested in the recent period to help scientist understand how the tick bite triggers red meat allergy and how it changes the immune system’s reaction to the said protein. For the time being, however, there isn’t a cure that can help patients regain their normal red meat diet. But the symptoms can be controlled through diet, doctors hoping that it passes in time.
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Roxanne Briean
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