More people than thought may be at risk for red meat allergy caused by ticks

Nearly a quarter of adults in states crawling with lone star ticks are estimated to show signs that they’ve been bitten, the CDC says.

Far more people may be at risk for alpha-gal syndrome, the tick-borne illness that triggers an allergy to red meat, than previously thought.

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Nearly a quarter of adults in five states where lone star ticks are prevalent are estimated to show signs that they’ve been bitten, according to new research published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alpha-gal syndrome is caused by ticks, usually the lone star tick, that have previously fed on mammals like cows, deer, goats and pigs. Those animals have a specific sugar molecule in their blood called alpha-gal. When those ticks go on to bite humans, they can transmit the molecule to them.