Tick bites can cause all sorts of nasty afflictions. And if you’re bitten by a Lone Star tick, here’s one more to add to the list: a red meat allergy. NPR reports: About 10 years ago, Dr. Scott Commins, an allergist and associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was among the first physicians to identify the allergy in patients with tick bites. Back then, there were just a few dozen known cases. That has increased dramatically. “We’re confident the number is over 5,000 [cases], and that’s in the U.S. alone,” Commins says. There are also cases in Sweden, Germany and Australia — likely linked to other species of ticks. In the U.S., the Lone Star tick has expanded its range beyond the Southeast, and there are documented cases of alpha gal meat allergies farther north — including New York, Maine and Minnesota. “The range of the tick is expanding,” says Commins. So is awareness about the red meat allergy it can cause. “We have a blood test, and the word is getting out.”
of this story at Slashdot.
Source:: Slashdot