NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have reported what they believe is the first documented death from a meat allergy that can be triggered by tick bites.A 47-year-old New Jersey man died last year from alpha-gal syndrome, which in 2011 was first linked to bites from the Lone Star tick.More than 100,000 people in the U.S. have become allergic to red meat since 2010 because of the syndrome, according to one estimate.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSome outside experts said it appears to be the first documented case of someone suffering a deadly alpha-gal reaction shortly after eating meat.It’s possible other deaths have happened but were assumed to be from other causes and not thoroughly investigated like this one was, said Joshua Benoit, a tick biologist at the University of Cincinnati.A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson said the agency was not involved in this investigation and could not speak definitively about whether it’s the first such death. The CDC recently released a free online training module to increase awareness and improve diagnosing, she added.Dr. Scott Commins, a leading alpha-gal syndrome researcher at the University of North Carolina, called the death an “unmitigated tragedy.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”Totally unnecessary and with increased awareness, this won’t happen again,” he said in an email.The case report was published this week in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The lead author was the University of Virginia’s Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills, who led the 2011 paper that first linked Lone Star tick bites to the meat allergy.People with alpha-gal syndrome can experience symptoms including hives, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eye lids. Unlike some other food allergies, which occur soon after eating, these reactions typically hit hours later.The new report tells of a healthy airline pilot who in the summer of 2024 went on a camping trip with his wife and children. They had steak as …
