Allergic to Meat: Tiny Tick May Be Spreading Vegetarianism
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock (file photo)(NEW YORK) — A tiny tick might be to blame for a rash of meat allergies in central and southern regions of the U.S.
A bite from the lone star tick, so-called for the white spot on its back, looks innocent enough. But researchers say saliva that sneaks into the wound might trigger a reaction to meat agonizing enough to convert lifelong carnivores into vegetarians.
“People will eat beef and then anywhere from three to six hours later start having a reaction; anything from hives to full-blown anaphylactic shock,” said Dr. Scott Commins, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. “Most people want to avoid having the reaction, so they try to stay away from the food that triggers it.”
Cases of the bizarre allergy are cropping up in areas ripe with lone star ticks, according to research presented Friday at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif. But whether the bugs cause meat allergies remains unclear.
“It’s hard to prove,” said Commins. “We’re still searching for the mechanism.”
Allergies are immune reactions to foreign substances, from pet hair to peanuts. As antibodies attack the substance that caused the reaction, they trigger the release of histamine, a chemical that causes hives and, in severe cases, life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Commins said blood levels of antibodies for alpha-gal, a sugar found in beef, lamb and pork, rise after a single bite from the lone star tick. He said he hopes experiments that combine tiny samples of tick saliva with the invisible antibodies will prove the two are directly connected.
“It’s complicated, no doubt,” said Commins. “But we think it’s something in the saliva.”
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