Being bitten by a Lone Star tick can cause you to develop an allergy to red meat, even if it’s something you’ve eaten for your entire life, NPR reports.
According to the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, “this specific allergy is related to a carbohydrate called alpha-gal and is best diagnosed with a blood test,” adding that it can often take hours after eating red meat products before “the appearance of an allergic reaction.”
Dr. Scott Commins, who was one of the first physicians to recognize the link between red meat allergies and Lone Star tick bites, told NPR that although 10 years ago there were just a few dozen known cases, today he said doctors are “confident the number is over 5,000 [cases], and that’s in the U.S. alone.”
Click here to read the entire article.
Source: NPR
Latest from Quality Assurance & Food Safety
- FDA and EPA Announce First Registered Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water Treatment
- USDA’s Agricultural Research Technology Center Breaks Ground in California
- Submissions Open for Fourth Annual Seeding the Future Global Food System Challenge
- PPM Technologies Introduces FlavorWright SmartSpray Food Coating System
- Mettler Toledo Unveils New X52 X-Ray Solution
- FDA Issues Final Compliance Policy Guide for Scombrotoxin (Histamine)-Forming Fish and Fishery Products
- World Food Prize Foundation Announces $50,000 Innovate for Impact Challenge
- Ron Simon & Associates Retained by 33 Victims in McDonald's E. coli Outbreak