Ticks That Spread Red-Meat Allergy
From the WSJ:
(snip)
Odd as it seems, researchers say that bites from the voracious lone star tick are making some people allergic to red meat—even if they've never had a problem eating it before. The allergic reactions range from vomiting and abdominal cramps to hives to anaphylaxis, which can lead to breathing difficulties and sometimes even death. Unlike most food allergies, the symptoms typically set in three to six hours after an affected person eats beef, pork or lamb—often in the middle of the night. The bite that seems to precipitate it may occur weeks or months before, often making it difficult for people to make the link.
(snip)
Tony Piazza, a landscape designer in Southampton, N.Y., first woke up in the middle of the night gasping for breath and covered in hives six years ago. Emergency-room doctors at Southampton Hospital gave him intravenous antihistamines and said it was probably an allergy, but they couldn't determine the source. The same scene played out two or three times a year for the next few years, Mr. Piazza, 49, says. "I was afraid that the next time, I wouldn't wake up," he says. He noticed that the reaction occurred every time he ate lamb for dinner, even though he had never had food allergies before. Then it happened with steak and then hamburger. "I swore off red meat completely and the reactions stopped," says Mr. Piazza. When he heard about the tick connection, it made sense, given his work. "I get ticks all the time," he says.
U. Va. allergy specialist Thomas Platts-Mills discovered the tick connection serendipitously—while investigating why some cancer patients had severe allergic reactions to the drug cetuximab in 2006. Blood tests revealed they had pre-existing antibodies to a certain sugar commonly known as alpha-gal, which is present in the drug and found naturally in mammalian meat. Curiously, only the cancer patients from the southeastern "tick-belt" states had the allergic reaction. And as U. Va. researchers checked for the antibodies to alpha-gal in their (non-cancer-stricken) allergy patients, the same geographic pattern held true. What's more, some had reported having allergic reactions hours after eating beef, lamb or pork.. The researchers surmise that the delayed allergic reaction occurs because alpha-gal is most concentrated in animal fat, which takes several hours to digest.
(snip)
Drs. Platts-Mills and Commins still haven't conclusively proven that tick bites trigger the creation of the antibodies. Nor do they know whether something in the natural saliva of all lone star ticks causes the reaction or whether the ticks are picking up a pathogen from other hosts and transferring it to humans. But evidence of the connection is mounting. To date, the U. Va. researchers have collected blood samples of more than 1,000 people with antibodies to alpha-gal, from Texas to Massachusetts, who report the delayed allergic reaction to red meat... The good news is that the allergic reaction seems to fade after a few years in some sufferers if they avoid additional tick bites.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324634304578537203916053308.html
(if you cannot open the link, copy and paste the title onto google)
= new reply since forum marked as read
but I'm still going to mention this article to his doctor at his next appointment.
He has had 2 bizarre allergy-like incidents in the past couple of weeks. Both happened in the middle of the night. The first time, he woke up w/his tongue so swollen that he could barely talk, but no other symptoms. He refused to go to the doctor, and the benedryl I gave him seemed to help, so he conveniently forgot about it.
Well, about a week later, he woke up with his upper lip so swollen that he looked like Homer Simpson. It would have been funny had I not been so worried. He is way too under-concerned about his health imo... But again, the swelling was accompanied by no other anaphylactic-type symptoms. And it responded to benedryl this last time too.
So, I've made an appointment for him anyway. He hasn't been in to see his doctor for 2 years, despite the fact that he has a hiatal hernia that should be better monitored (I would think).
Incidentally, what got him to go 2 years ago was me making an appointment for him after he developed a 'bullseye' type rash from a tick. He tested negative for Lyme disease, but now I'm wondering about this article.... And yes, he had eaten red meat prior to both of these incidents...
Please, no advice. I know the rules. Just commenting. My thanks to the OP for the article. 
with this story.
I hope this will help. Perhaps, in the meantime, skip meat, pork and lamb.
(Not exactly and advice, only conclusion from the story..)
Last edited Thu Jun 13, 2013, 04:32 PM - Edit history (1)
to the appointment (I'm going of course). Otherwise it won't get mentioned. The SO is like a obstinate little kid when it comes to seeing the doctor. 
