Alpha-Gal Syndrome: Meat Allergy Cases Linked To Tick Bites Grow In US, Warning Issued
NDTV
The bite of a lone star tick can result in the condition known as AGS, which is an allergic reaction to a sugar present in dairy and red meat.
A new report by the national public health agency of the United States said that the rate of Americans developing a rare meat allergy from tick bites is rising. The data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that this allergy may have already impacted as many as 450,000 people.
"Between 2010 and 2022, there were more than 110,000 suspected cases of alpha-gal syndrome identified. However, because the diagnosis of alpha-gal syndrome requires a positive diagnostic test and a clinical exam, and some individuals with alpha-gal syndrome may not get tested, it is estimated that as many as 450,000 people might have been affected by AGS in the United States," the report said.
The studies published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report show that many healthcare providers in the United States are not familiar with an emerging and potentially life-threatening allergic condition called alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), also known as the red-meat allergy or the tick bite meat allergy. Of those aware of AGS, knowledge about diagnosis and management is low.
