Alpha Gals Got it Goin’ On (AKA: This bites)

It is apparently Tick Awareness week (May 4-10, 2025), so be aware of ticks. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Ticks suck, literally and figuratively. People get all freaked out when they find a tick on them, and there is that gross factor. There is also the potential for disease transmission. I could go on and on about all the ticks and the diseases that love them, but I have other things to do today, so let’s talk about Alpha-gal syndrome. I will start by saying that I am not a microbiologist, nor am I a physician. If I get anything wrong on those points, feel free to leave a comment.

The CDC says, “Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic condition that can occur after a tick bite. It's named for a molecule, galactose-α-1,3-galactose, that's found in most mammals.”

Translation: tick bite makes you severely allergic to red meat for life*. I first heard about this in 2016 and I admit, I thought it was some clickbait hoax. It’s not. Here is a great podcast if you want to learn more.

Lone star ticks primarily spread alpha-gal syndrome. There is also evidence that the black legged tick (aka: deer tick) and the longhorn tick can carry it and potentially spread it. Chiggers have been implicated as well. That’s not good because the lone star tick is common in the entire eastern half of the US and is scattered through the western half. One study showed it was the third most found tick in Michigan and the most encountered tick in Delaware. Alabama research showed it was the most commonly found tick when sampling, and citizen science from Tennessee showed more lone stars collected than other ticks over a one-year period. And it continues to spread with climate change. AGS has been reported everywhere except Antarctica.

Since ticks suck blood from mammals, it is thought that they pick it up from the deer or rabbit or whatever they’ve fed on previously. It’s now thought that ticks may make the alpha-gal themselves.

It’s difficult to say how many cases there are a year; Alpha-gal is not a reportable disease. The CDC estimates 110,000 suspected cases between 2010 and 2022. That number is likely to increase with the increase in ticks and the increase in surveillance and testing.

While you don’t have to become a strict vegetarian, here are some things you can no longer eat:

• Beef, pork, lamb, venison

• Milk and milk products (sometimes)

• Gelatin (made from animals)

• Mammal fat (lard)

• Meat broths

• Some medications and vaccines (even tattoo ink!)

• Rare cases – inhaling fumes from cooking meats

The symptoms start 3-6 hours after eating red meat, which is different from other allergies, where symptoms are usually within the first hour. It’s also odd because it’s an allergy to a carbohydrate, not a protein. Good news: there is a blood test to detect this.

As with all good pest control programs, prevention is key. Everyone should protect themselves with proper PPE and a CDC approved repellent. People can reduce the number of ticks they have in their yards by keeping grass short, reducing those overgrown areas, and reducing the attractiveness to rodents and deer. Tick treatments are also effective when done correctly. It’s not just AGS, it’s also about all the other diseases that lone star ticks and other ticks can spread and infect people.

If you are concerned about ticks and your tick control program, we can improve that for you. Contact us. Preferably before having someone acquire a tick-borne pathogen.

Lagniappe - check out this "scourge of ticks"

*There is some evidence that it can be overcome long term.

360 PFCS – your urban pest control consultants.