General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)Ticks That Can Make People Severely Allergic To Meat Are Spreading In The U.S. [View all]
Mike Abley will always remember the last hamburger he ever ate. It was more than 20 years ago, and he recalls the meat being particularly juicy and delicious.
But a few hours after dinner, Abley started itching like mad. He burst into hives, his tongue swelled, and he eventually passed out, prompting his wife to call 911. At the hospital, doctors determined he had gone into anaphylactic shocka potentially deadly allergic reaction.
Fortunately, Abley pulled through, and he later met with an allergist to determine what had caused the terrifying episode. A series of tests revealed something strange: The hamburger had triggered the reaction. And it wasnt just the beef he was allergic to; it was practically all red meat.
Abley is one of at least 1,500 people in the United States who suffer allergic reactions after eating meat, and doctors interviewed by Popular Science believe such cases are on the rise. But whats even more bizarre is the source of the allergy. The condition, called alpha-gal allergy, is caused by the bite of a Lone Star ticka species traditionally found mostly in the Southern United States but has spread farther north in recent years.
And as the tick spreads, more and more cases of meat allergies are being reported. In one area of Long Island, New York, for example, one doctor we spoke with has seen and increase of 200 cases in the past three yearsup from practically zero in 2011.
?itok=TqBvGpUR
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/ticks-can-make-people-severely-allergic-meat-are-spreading-us?src=SOC&dom=fb