First case of death from 'meat allergy caused by ticks' reported
In recent years,
Implications of a fatal anaphylactic reaction occurring 4 hours after eating beef in a young man with IgE antibodies to galactose-α-1,3-galactose - The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice
https://www.jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(25)00953-5/fulltext
1st Death Linked to 'Meat Allergy' Spread by Ticks
https://newsroom.uvahealth.com/2025/11/13/1st-death-linked-to-meat-allergy-spread-by-ticks/
First Confirmed Death From Tick-Acquired Meat Allergy Prompts Warnings : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/first-confirmed-death-from-tick-aquired-meat-allergy-prompts-warnings
A 47-year-old man living in New Jersey, USA, went camping with his wife and children in the summer of 2024, spent the day outdoors, and ate beef steak for dinner at 10 p.m. The man's family usually ate only chicken, so it was unusual for them to eat beef.
The man then woke up at 2 a.m. with abdominal discomfort, which eventually led to severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. The symptoms subsided after two hours, and he was able to sleep. The next day, he reportedly had a normal breakfast and was able to walk five miles (about 8 km). At the time, the man reportedly told his son, 'I thought I was going to die.'
The man was fine for a while, but two weeks later, he went to a barbecue and ate a hamburger at around 3 p.m., and after returning home, he began feeling unwell again around 7:20 p.m. His son found him vomiting and collapsed on the bathroom floor at 7:30 p.m., and called an ambulance. Paramedics attempted to save his life, but he was pronounced dead at 10:22 p.m.
The autopsy revealed no significant abnormalities in the man's organs, and the family was informed that the death was 'sudden and of unknown cause.' However, the man's wife was not convinced, so she asked a doctor to review the autopsy report. The doctor then contacted Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, a world-renowned allergy specialist, who said, 'I suspected a meat allergy.'
Platts-Mills' posthumous blood samples revealed that the man had a red meat allergy, triggered by a carbohydrate called
The man's red meat allergy is believed to have been caused by a bite from the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) . Alpha-gal is contained in tick saliva, and it is known that tick bites can cause antibodies to be produced against alpha-gal, which can lead to a red meat allergy.
According to the man's wife, he had been bitten by chiggers around his ankles 12 to 13 times in the summer of 2024. In fact, it wasn't chiggers that bit him, but rather a tick that causes a red meat allergy.
While experts have long believed that red meat allergies can be fatal, this is the first reported case of a fatal red meat allergy caused by ticks. The man's severe symptoms are thought to be due to a combination of factors, including drinking beer with the meat, exposure to ragweed pollen, and exercising that afternoon.
'The important information for the general public is that, first, severe abdominal pain occurring three to five hours after eating beef, pork or lamb should be investigated as an anaphylactic reaction. Second, a mite or mite larval bite that causes persistent itching for more than a week can induce or enhance sensitization to mammalian meats. However, the majority of meat-allergic patients who develop mild to moderate hives can control their symptoms with appropriate dietary therapy,' said Dr Platts-Mills.
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