Scientists document a death from a meat allergy tied to certain ticks

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Scientists document a death from a meat allergy tied to certain ticks

2025-11-15 04:57 Last Updated At：05:00

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have reported what they believe is the first documented death from a meat allergy that can be triggered by tick bites.

A 47-year-old New Jersey man died last year from alpha-gal syndrome, which in 2011 was first linked to bites from the Lone Star tick.

More than 100,000 people in the U.S. have become allergic to red meat since 2010 because of the syndrome, according to one estimate.

Some outside experts said it appears to be the first documented case of someone suffering a deadly alpha-gal reaction shortly after eating meat.

It's possible other deaths have happened but were assumed to be from other causes and not thoroughly investigated like this one was, said Joshua Benoit, a tick biologist at the University of Cincinnati.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson said the agency was not involved in this investigation and could not speak definitively about whether it's the first such death. The CDC recently released a free online training module to increase awareness and improve diagnosing, she added.

Dr. Scott Commins, a leading alpha-gal syndrome researcher at the University of North Carolina, called the death an “unmitigated tragedy.”

"Totally unnecessary and with increased awareness, this won’t happen again,” he said in an email.

The case report was published this week in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The lead author was the University of Virginia’s Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills, who led the 2011 paper that first linked Lone Star tick bites to the meat allergy.

People with alpha-gal syndrome can experience symptoms including hives, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eye lids. Unlike some other food allergies, which occur soon after eating, these reactions typically hit hours later.

The new report tells of a healthy airline pilot who in the summer of 2024 went on a camping trip with his wife and children. They had steak as part of a late supper. That was unusual — the man rarely ate meat.

He woke up at 2 a.m. with severe stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting. He gradually felt better, went back to sleep, and the next morning he felt well enough to eat breakfast and walk 5 miles.

Two weeks later, back home in New Jersey, he went to a barbecue, where he ate a hamburger. About four hours later, he grew ill. A short time after that, his son found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. The son called paramedics, but the man was declared dead that night at a hospital.

The researchers said blood tests revealed evidence of alpha-gal syndrome. Proof that it came from a Lone Star tick is incomplete. The authors made the link based on a statement from the man's wife, who had said he had 12 or 13 “chigger” bites around his ankles earlier in the summer.

But the conclusion makes sense, as people in the eastern U.S. sometimes mistake the bites from mites with those from larval ticks, Commins said.

The number of cases of Alpha-gal syndrome is growing for a variety of reasons, including the Lone Star tick's expanding range, more people coming into contact with the ticks and more doctors learning about it and ordering tests for it.

It can take weeks or longer for infected people to develop the syndrome, which is named for the alpha-gal carbohydrate found in the tick’s saliva. Initial reactions to red meat may be milder but grow progressively more severe, Benoit said.

Some patients have only stomach symptoms, and the American Gastroenterological Association has advised that people with unexplained diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain should be tested for the syndrome.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Khawaja's dramatic Ashes return innings ends just before tea on Day 1 of 3rd test

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Usman Khawaja scored 82 in a dramatic return to the Ashes on Wednesday, helping salvage Australia’s innings around a faltering top order on the opening day of the third cricket test against England.

The veteran batter was rushed back into the lineup on the eve of his 39th birthday to replace Steve Smith, who was ruled out with illness just before the coin toss.

Khawaja survived a dropped catch on 5 before sharing important partnerships of 61 with Marnus Labuschagne and 91 with Alex Carey to lift Australia to 194 for five at tea.

Carey was unbeaten on 48 and Josh Inglis was on 5, surviving the few minutes at the end of the middle session after Khawaja lofted a slog-sweep against spinner Will Jacks directly to Josh Tongue in the outfield.

England picked up wickets in pairs early in the morning and afternoon sessions, with Jofra Archer (3-19) ending a 33-run opening stand in the ninth over and returning to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne (19) and Cameron Green (0) in the first over after lunch.

Khawaja missed the second test with a back injury and may have been considering test retirement after being initially omitted from Australia’s lineup for Adelaide. But his prospects changed quickly when Smith was ruled out because of nausea and dizziness.

Smith led Australia to eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins. He hit the winning runs in Brisbane as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, leaving England needing a victory in Adelaide to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes.

After Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in his first test since sustaining a back injury in July, Australia's new opening partnership of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald was coasting against some fairly wayward bowling from Brydon Carse.

But Archer struck with the second ball of his fifth over, cramping Weatherald (18) with a short ball at almost 148 kph (92 mph) and getting a top edge to fly up for an easy caught behind.

Carse took a wicket on the first ball of the next over as Australia slumped to 33-2, with Head (10) reaching for a drive and brilliantly caught by Zak Crawley low to the ground at short cover.

Khawaja weathered early pressure from Tongue, who was playing his first test match outside England, before driving at a ball that was moving away and edging to second slip, where Harry Brook put down a catch at chest height in the 16th over.

Apart from that, and a couple of edges that didn't carry to the slips, Khawaja was in commanding form despite batting in the unfamiliar position at No. 4. He hit 10 boundaries, including two masterful cut shots that split the field.

Just as his first century since January loomed, though, he slightly mistimed a shot against Jacks and Tongue made no mistake in the deep.

Players on both teams wore black armbands to honor the 15 people killed and dozens injured in an antisemitic attack at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday that targeted the Jewish community celebrating the start of Hannukah.

Police described the mass shooting as a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State.

Flags were flown at half-staff on Day 1 at the Adelaide Oval, where folk singer John Williamson performed his fabled song “True Blue” in a pre-match program that included a moment’s silence, the Indigenous “Welcome to Country” and the national anthems.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket