Sudden unexplained death was, after all, the first fatal case of alpha-gal syndrome. Tick bites killed healthy 47-year-old man.
Healthy, airline pilot in New Jersey, a 47 year old man became the first confirmed human victim of death caused by “”, a rare condition induced by tick bites.
The case occurred in the summer of 2024, when the subject, during a family camping trip, began to feel severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting around four hours after eating a beef steak. Despite improving the following day, the episode alarmed him: in a conversation with one of his children, he confessed that thought he was dying.
Two weeks later, during a barbecue, he ate a hamburger at around 3 pm and, four hours later, he was found unconscious in the bathroom. At 10:22 pm he was pronounced dead, according to the .
The initial autopsy revealed no significant anomalies: the case was recorded as a “sudden unexplained death”.
Determined to discover the cause, the wife sought help from a doctor friend, who contacted a team of researchers from the University of Virginia led by Thomas Platts-Mills, responsible for discovering the “meat allergy”.
The condition, known scientifically as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a severe allergic reaction to a sugar molecule called galactose-α-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), present in the meat of various mammals and in the saliva of some ticks known as “lone star ticks”.
When these ticks bite, the human immune system can identify alpha-gal as a threat, causing sensitization. Subsequently, eating red meat – such as beef or lamb – can trigger a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylaxisas happened in this case.
The pilot’s blood analysis confirmed that he had suffered a severe anaphylactic reaction. It was also identified that supposed mite bites on ankles during the summer were likely from lone star tick larvae, according to the study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
It is estimated that up to 450,000 people in the US may be affected by AGS, although not everyone develops the allergy after being stung.
Platts-Mills highlights some warning signs for the population:
- Severe abdominal pain 3 to 5 hours after eating beef, pork or lamb should be investigated as possible anaphylaxis.
- Tick bites that itch for more than a week or larvae known as “chiggers” can induce or increase sensitization to mammalian flesh.
- For milder cases, such as moderate hives, the condition can be controlled with a proper diet.
The study was in a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology,
