this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2023
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Meat allergy from tick bites is on the rise—and US doctors are in the dark (arstechnica.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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The allergy, called alpha-gal syndrome, came to light a little over a decade ago.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

The interesting part:

But, in recent years, researchers have also discovered that alpha-gal is in tick saliva. And, for reasons researchers still haven't worked out, some people bitten by ticks develop a type of antibody called anti-alpha-gal IgE. This antibody may help protect people from tick bites, but it also renders them allergic to anything with alpha-gal—i.e., mammalian meat and animal products. It's a double-edged sword that has been hypothesized to be an "allergic klendusity."