Particle.news
Download on the App Store
27 ARTICLES
·
35m ago

UVA Team Confirms First Documented Death From Tick-Linked Meat Allergy

Researchers confirmed the cause via postmortem tests showing extreme alpha-gal IgE with tryptase levels consistent with fatal anaphylaxis.

A close-up of a lone star tick, the most frequent spreader of alpha-gal syndrome in the U.S.
This undated photo provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Lone Star tick, which despite its Texas-sounding name, is found mainly in the Southeast. At least 100,000 people in the U.S. have become allergic to red meat since 2010 because of a weird syndrome triggered by tick bites. That's according to a new government report. But health officials believe more have the problem and don’t know it, and the actual number is more than than four times higher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, July 27, 2023 released two reports on the growing tick-borne allergy problem. (James Gathany/CDC via AP)
© Jay Ondreicka via Shutterstock
Image

Overview

  • University of Virginia clinicians reported the case in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice as the first confirmed fatality from alpha-gal syndrome.
  • A 47-year-old New Jersey airline pilot fell ill hours after a steak on a camping trip in 2024 and died two weeks later after a hamburger, with his autopsy initially labeled “sudden unexplained death.”
  • Postmortem blood testing detected very high alpha-gal–specific IgE and elevated tryptase, findings that researchers say match a fatal allergic reaction.
  • The man’s wife recalled a dozen itchy summer “chigger” bites, which investigators say were likely Lone Star tick larvae that can induce sensitization; alcohol, recent exercise, and ragweed exposure may have intensified the reaction.
  • Experts urge clinicians to treat severe abdominal pain 3–5 hours after eating beef, pork, or lamb as possible anaphylaxis and call for broader tick-bite prevention and awareness as exposure risks grow.