Meat Allergy from a Tick? MU Extension Wants to Hear Your Story

(Missourinet) – Imagine biting into a burger—only to break out in hives. It’s a bizarre reaction tied to a tiny culprit: The Lone Star tick.  People with the allergy can have a range of reactions after eating food with mammal meat or products, such as becoming extremely sick or having difficulty breathing.

Now, MU Extension is asking Missourians to help them understand how much people know about Alpha-Gal Syndrome, a tick-borne allergy to food with mammal meat or products. Rachel O’Halloran Nutrition and Health Specialist with MU Extension says Alpha-Gal Syndrome is an emerging condition.

“At this time, Alpha Gal syndrome is not a required reportable illness for our local health departments or hospitals, but anecdotally, we do hear from our community members. So, we are seeing that there is an increased incidence of it here in Missouri.”

Acupuncture relief?

O’Halloran says some people have tried acupuncture to get relief from symptoms. “For some individuals, acupuncture can result in a reduction of symptoms for a period of time, but some individuals then have those symptoms return at a greater sensitivity, and for some individuals there is no reduction in symptoms. So I would say that at this time we have very limited study.”

MU Extension is asking residents to go to extension.Missouri.edu to take the Alpha-Gal Syndrome survey to help them shape future education efforts across the state. O’Halloran says they’re looking for input from everyone—whether you’ve experienced Alpha-Gal Syndrome or not.