Overview
- Postmortem blood showed extremely high IgE to alpha-gal with markers consistent with fatal anaphylaxis, overturning an autopsy that had listed sudden unexplained death.
- The 47-year-old airline pilot became ill about four hours after a hamburger in September 2024, two weeks after a similar overnight episode following a steak while camping.
- A review initiated by his wife linked reported “chigger” bites to lone star tick larvae, a key source of alpha-gal sensitization in the eastern United States.
- Researchers cited possible amplifiers including a beer, recent exercise and ragweed exposure, and urged testing when severe abdominal pain occurs 3–6 hours after eating mammalian meat.
- The case, published in JACI: In Practice, arrives as suspected U.S. alpha-gal cases top 100,000 and surveys show many clinicians are unfamiliar with identifying or treating the syndrome.