I think I would die.. Alpha Gal

[brewmaster15]

I'm not a fan of ticks. In CT we are the epicenter for lyme disease..which I have a long bad history with. I have had it several times, collected ticks for research on when in college years ago and even been part of a vaccine study group. Its carried by deer ticks. Nasty debilitating disease that almost did me in.

So along comes climate change and things are warming up now for more southern ticks to take a foothold in CT. The Lone star tick is becoming more and more common and with our high density of deer..its probably going to continue to expand its range.

Just when I thought Lyme Disease was bad enough we have a tick that can make you allergic to pork,venison,steak and lamb! I think I would die! I've known about Alpha Gal awhile but when my sister sent me a pic of a lone star tick she found in town it really sunk in...

https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/alpha-gal-syndrome-ags#:~:text=Alpha%2Dgal%20syndrome%20(AGS)%20is%20 an%20allergic%20condition%20in,and%20tick%20bite%2 0meat%20allergy.

[Second Hand Pat]

Sounds nasty Al but on the high side seafood works for me. :) and then there is the meat grown in a lab :(
Pat

[LizStreithorst]

What's up with that? I thought that the Mama Bear was the Alpha Gal around here ;)

[AquaticNerd]

That's like being kicked while down. Not only having to deal with ticks and tick bites, but then becoming allergic to meat?

I mean - I might survive that, but if I can no longer taste the beefy tenderness of a good ribeye, I might as well go vegan. :D

[Charlyc11]

A month ago my daughter out on Long Island found a Lone star tick on her so she went through all the tests and so far negative. She is not much of a meat eater but she is still in her 30's so she might change.

[brewmaster15]

From the yale webpage I linked..
Alpha-gal is also found in many other foods, medications, and medical products made using materials from mammals. Dairy products, for instance, contain alpha-gal. Many other foods and medications contain gelatin, which is often made from mammal-derived collagen or other materials that come from animals. Alpha-gal is also found in other medical products, including snake anti-venoms and prosthetic heart valves taken from cows or pigs. People with AGS have varying degrees of allergic reactions to these foods, medications, and medical products

[Willie]

...So along comes climate change and things are warming up now for more southern ticks to take a foothold in CT. The Lone star tick is becoming more and more common and with our high density of deer..its probably going to continue to expand its range...

Not probably, most definitely. Remember Zika blowing up in Puerto Rico producing microcephalic babies? Here's what's going on in Europe today with insect borne diseases.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDNTOB8EsF8&t=64s&ab_channel=ECDC

Climate change is going to make our lives so much more interesting.