The media is reporting that tick bites may be causing beef and pork allergies that are severe enough to be life-threatening. While this is a lesser known risk of tick bites it has been reported in the literature as far back as 2009. The allergy relates to a sugar ("Alpha-gal") found not only in these commonly consumed meats but the flesh of most mammals. However the sensitivity of patients seems to vary greatly between meat types.
You do not need to show a severe or systemic reaction to the tick bite in order to develop a meat allergy--in fact it may occur more often when there is only a moderate, localized response. Overall this phenomenon is still not widely recognized although it has been demonstrated now in multiple countries including the United States, Sweden and Australia.
People with a sudden allergic reaction after eating meat, especially beef, may need to prompt their doctors to consider tick bite as the cause. It is a likely contender if you have a sudden onset meat allergy, live in an area with ticks, and may have been exposed to multiple bites that did not seem serious at the time.
Tick-Bite-related Meat Allergy References:
- An association between tick bite reactions and red meat allergy in humans (2009)
- The relevance of tick bites to the production of IgE antibodies to the mammalian oligosaccharide galactose-α-1,3-galactose (2011)
- Red meat allergy in Sweden: Association with tick sensitization and B-negative blood groups (2013)
- Tick bites and red meat allergy (2013)
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