'If only people knew what a tick could do' - the deadly meat allergies caused by tick bites
Summary
A teenager named Jeremy Webb died from a severe allergic reaction caused by a rare meat allergy triggered by tick bites, known as mammalian meat allergy (MMA) or alpha-gal syndrome. This allergy, discovered about 20 years ago in Australia, occurs after tick bites cause the body to react to a sugar molecule found in red meat, and it can lead to life-threatening anaphylaxis.Key Facts
- Jeremy Webb, 15, experienced difficulty breathing and vomiting after eating meat but was initially treated for asthma.
- He died a year later after eating beef sausage; a coroner ruled his death was caused by tick-induced MMA.
- MMA is an allergy to mammalian meat triggered by a sugar called alpha-gal, introduced to the body by tick bites.
- Cases of MMA have increased since it was discovered in Australia in 2007 by Professor Sheryl van Nunen.
- The eastern paralysis tick in Australia causes MMA, mainly on the east coast north of Sydney, a known “hotspot” for the allergy.
- About 50% of people bitten by the tick develop antibodies to alpha-gal, and 15-20% of those develop the meat allergy.
- Symptoms range from skin rashes and stomach cramps to severe and fatal anaphylaxis.
- MMA has also been found in the United States and on all continents where ticks live.
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