Patients report tick-related red meat allergy as Missouri summers heat up

A red meat allergy is on the rise in the St. Louis region as tick season becomes longer and hotter in the Midwest.

Doctors say more people in the area are being diagnosed with “alpha-gal” syndrome, which can cause a severe allergic reaction to red meat.

The syndrome appears to be common in those who have had tick bites, although researchers are still studying exactly what causes the allergy, said Dr. Maya Jareth, an allergist and immunologist at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Some people, after being bit by a tick, report a sudden aversion to meat from cows, pigs and other mammals.

“The number of patients we're diagnosing is going up,” Jareth said. “The number of ticks is increasing, potentially due to hotter summers, longer summers. But then also the range of this lone star tick is moving west and north. So it's actually expanding.”

The map of incidence of the syndrome throughout the United States matches up almost perfectly with the map of the lone star tick’s range, in the Southeastern and Midwestern parts of the country, she said.