WSIU Public Broadcasting (Oct. 12) – Alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy triggered by tick bites, is drawing growing concern in Illinois as the ticks linked to the condition spread north. Dr. Becky Smith, professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said a growing lone star tick population in Illinois could mean more people are at risk. “Usually allergies are to a protein, and alpha-gal syndrome is actually an allergy to a sugar that is present in most mammals but not in humans,” she explained.
Tick-borne Meat Allergy on the Rise in Illinois
