Your Health: Lone-Star Ticks Expand Across the U.S. --- Their bites can trigger a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat or even to dairy

“Here's another reason to cover up in the thick of tick season this summer: There is a bite that can leave you allergic to burgers, bacon and steak.

 

That's right -- Lyme disease isn't the only health threat ticks can pose. More people are learning about alpha-gal syndrome, a potentially life-changing allergy linked to the lone-star tick.

 

The condition triggers a red-meat allergy. In some cases, it also causes an allergy to dairy and other products or medication derived from mammals (think gelatin).

 

And lone-star ticks are on the move, thanks to climate change and burgeoning white-tailed deer populations. They are moving beyond their traditional base in the Southeast and south-central U.S., pushing farther north and west.

 

The ticks are especially common in coastal areas, such as Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts and Suffolk County in New York. And no, despite their name, the ticks didn't originate in Texas.

 

They are called that because of a single white dot on their backs that looks like a single star.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 450,000 Americans have alpha-gal syndrome. That is nowhere near the level of Lyme disease, which accounts for a similar number of diagnoses each year.

 

But that's no reason for complacency. Unlike Lyme disease, which is an infection, alpha-gal is an allergy. It's caused by the saliva in a tick and how it intersects with the immune response of certain people.

 

When a lone-star tick bites you, it introduces the sugar molecule alpha-gal into your bloodstream. The immune system responds, and the next time you eat red meat and related products it identifies those as a threat, resulting in an allergic reaction.

 

The most common symptoms are hives and gastrointestinal issues, but symptoms can progress to shortness of breath and even anaphylactic shock.

 

"It can absolutely be life threatening and unfortunately fatal, but that's exceedingly rare," says Dr. Scott Commins, an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

An added problem: Some doctors believe cases are still being missed. After all, until recently many healthcare providers knew little about the condition caused by lone-star tick bites.

 

A 2023 CDC report found that 42% of healthcare providers had limited knowledge of alpha-gal syndrome and 35% weren't confident in their ability to diagnose it.

 

Patients say misdiagnosis of the syndrome is common and diagnoses can be delayed. That's because allergic reactions often take place three to six hours after eating the culprit. Among common misdiagnoses: irritable bowel syndrome.

 

So what are people with alpha-gal syndrome allergic to? Everyone is allergic to beef and other meats such as pork, lamb and venison, but not to non-mammal meats such as poultry or fish. A smaller percentage also have sensitivity to dairy and have to avoid gelatin and products containing it -- including Jell-O, gummy bears and even gelcap pain relievers -- as well as medications made in mammalian cells.

 

Dr. John Walsh, a 57-year-old family physician in Cape Coral, Fla., was diagnosed with alpha-gal in November after having recurring episodes of facial swelling and breathing difficulties. "As a physician I barely knew what alpha-gal was," he says.

 

Since eliminating red meat, gelatin and other products made from mammal parts, Walsh still has experienced severe reactions. Over Christmas, he landed in the emergency room after waking up with a swollen face and tongue. He isn't sure what triggered it, but thinks it could have been natural flavors in something or cross-contamination.

 

In February, he had another anaphylactic reaction after eating seafood that he says he believes might have been cross-contaminated. "It just dramatically changed the way I do things," he says.

 

One trigger people tend to forget: red-meat stock used in a lot of sauces and broths in restaurants. Also, food manufacturers will list "natural flavors," which may be beef or pork-derived ingredients.

 

The severity of a reaction can also be influenced by other factors, such as exertion, alcohol, lack of sleep and infections.

 

While the best treatment is avoiding red meat, another option is the injectable drug Xolair. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2024 for all food allergies, the drug helps reduce allergic reactions after accidental exposures.

 

Some people generate antibodies to alpha-gal but never develop an allergy to red meat, says Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, an allergist and associate professor of medicine at University of Virginia's asthma, allergy and immunology division. In regions with large populations of lone-star ticks, up to 30% of people tested will have allergic antibodies to alpha-gal, but only 2% will develop an allergy, studies show.

 

The good news: For about one-third of people, alpha-gal will go away within three to five years, says Commins.

 

The key is to avoid additional lone-star tick bites. "That becomes really a challenge for some of these people who are farmers or hunters," he says.

 

Jim Fitzgerald, a 76-year-old in Savannah, Ga., was diagnosed with alpha-gal in 2022 after two allergic episodes.

 

A retired forester, Fitzgerald spent his career working in the woods and removed thousands of ticks from himself over the years. So he didn't think much of removing two ticks 30 days before the first episode.

 

After being diagnosed, he stopped eating any kind of red meat or gelatin. "It's a little bit of a pain," he says. "I miss a good burger, but a turkey burger isn't bad."

 

The silver lining? "My cholesterol has never been better," he says.” [1]

 

1. Your Health: Lone-Star Ticks Expand Across the U.S. --- Their bites can trigger a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat or even to dairy. Reddy, Sumathi.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 01 July 2026: A11.