{"id":1956,"date":"2019-06-14T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T09:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vetmed.illinois.edu\/i-tick\/?p=1956"},"modified":"2019-07-11T16:33:53","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T16:33:53","slug":"tattle-the-ticks-summer-bbq-beware-the-red-meat-allergy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vetmed.illinois.edu\/i-tick\/2019\/06\/14\/tattle-the-ticks-summer-bbq-beware-the-red-meat-allergy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tattle the Tick’s Summer BBQ: Beware the Red Meat Allergy!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey everyone,<\/p>\n

Being related to a bunch of ticks can make party planning hard. Take my relative, the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum<\/em>) for example. I wanted to throw a big, summer BBQ bash and I find out that they can cause “Red Meat Allergy”?!?!?!<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>

Image depicts rising IgE levels in a human patient after exposure to larval tick bites. Click on image for full sized view. (Figure 2 from Commins et al. 2013<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

So I did some research for you all and this is what I found out. Red meat allergy is actually a hypersensitivity reaction, aka allergy, to a molecule found in non-primate mammals (i.e. beef and pork). This molecule is called alpha-gal (long name: oligosaccharide epitope galactose-alpha-1,3,-galactose). When a human in the US is bitten by a lone star tick, their body’s immune system can produce a type of immune molecule called IgE that targets alpha-gal (Commin et al. 2013<\/a>). It is unknown if the tick saliva itself, residual blood from a previous meal, or a different pathogen carried by the lone star tick is the reason for this production of anti-alpha-gal IgE (Steinke et al. 2015<\/a>)<\/p>\n

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF RED MEAT (ALPHA-GAL) ALLERGY<\/p>\n

According to Steinke et al. (2015)<\/a> there have been two different clinical forms of alpha-gal allergy:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. For colorectal cancer patients with alpha-gal hypersensitivity that receive treatment with IV cetuximab, they can have an immediate onset anaphylaxis due to the anti-alpha-gal IgE molecules that their immune system is producing.<\/li>\n
  2. There is a delayed onset allergic reaction that can occur 3-6 hours after consuming beef or pork products if the human’s immune system is producing anti-alpha-gal IgE molecules. This delayed response usually results in hives and swelling.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"A<\/a>

    Flow chart depicting how a bite from a lone star tick can result in alpha-gal hypersensitivity. Click on image for full sized view. (Figure 3 from Steinke et al. 2015<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

    RED MEAT (ALPHA-GAL) ALLERGY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD???<\/p>\n

    So it turns out the US is not the only place that has to deal with ticks causing red meat allergy! In the US, we are worried about Amblyomma americanum<\/em>, the lone star tick. However, over in Europe, they need to look out for Ixodes ricinus<\/em> and in Australia they are worried about\u00a0Ixodes holocyclus<\/em> ruining their BBQs… What is weird though is that in the United States, my ticky relative the blacklegged deer tick, Ixodes scapularis<\/em> is not associated with red meat allergy even though it is in the Ixodes <\/em>genus (Steinke et al. 2015<\/a>)!<\/p>\n

    So I hope you find this information useful when planning your summer BBQs. I think not inviting any Lone Star ticks to the party is good advice to follow. Well, thanks for reading! Until next time,<\/p>\n

    Tattle the Tick<\/p>\n

    \"Tattle<\/p>\n<\/div>

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