PHILADELPHIA - There's a new reason to fear ticks - and it has nothing to do with Lyme disease.Health experts say a bite from a tick can cause a potentially life-threatening food allergy called "alpha-gal" syndrome.People with alpha-gal syndrome develop a severe allergy to a carbohydrate found in animal products, including red meat, milk and anything containing gelatin.Ticks pick up the molecule from animals, such as cows and sheep, then transfer it to humans through saliva during a bite or feeding.One single bite can spark the allergy in hours, or up to a day, according to Director of the Dr.
Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute Nicole Chinnic.Bites from Lone Star ticks, which are originated in Texas, are said to be especially dangerous.
You can identify the Lone Star tick by the distinct white dot found on its back.Bites from Lone Star ticks can lead to an extreme allergy.
Chinnici, who runs the "Tick Research Lab" at East Stroudsburg University, says symptoms of the allergy may vary, since reaction is dependent on the person."It can be mild where you just get some hives, or it can be very serious where it crosses into anaphylactic shock," she said.This extreme allergy could stay with those affected for life.