Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was more of a generalized mammal meat allergy rather than just read meat.

I live in a tick-heavy region of the USA where allergy is now fairly common. As in, introverted homebody me with a small social circle, but I know at least 5 people who have contracted it. 20+ years ago, the first time I heard about it, there was a degree of skepticism in the general population, but it's at the point now where almost everybody knows someone who is affected by it.

If there's any good news to be had, some people have discovered that it lessens in severity or even goes away after some time (usually takes many years).