MEAT ALLERGIES ARE SPREADING, AND THE CAUSE IS SURPRISING

today06/22/2017 9

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Winchester, VA – The Huffington Post reports that allergic reactions to meat are spreading through the country. Immunologist Thomas Platts-Mills from the University of Virginia thought little of the condition in the 1990’s but after a group of people from the southeast-lone star tick country-, all on the same chemotherapy drug, manifested an allergy to the drug, he investigated further. All of the patients with the drug allergy had antibodies to a protein linked saccharide nicknamed “alpha-gal.” The chemotherapy was full of alpha-gal.  Dr. Platts-Mills later discovered that 80% of the people with meat allergies had been bitten by a tick. Something in the saliva of the lone star tick reprogrammed their immune systems to reject foods with alpha-gal, namely meats. While this allergy was once confined to the southeast, it is now being found in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and the eastern tip of Long Island, which experienced at least 100 new cases in the last year.

2017 is a bad year for ticks, so check early, and check often, especially if you like bacon.

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Written by: Jennifer Snow

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