Some people avoid red meat for heart health. Others avoid it for ethical reasons. This week Lynne will tell you why there are also people who avoid red meat so they don’t go into anaphylactic shock. Keep your epi-pen and your bug spray close on hand while you learn about a strange immune response to a ubiquitous arachnid.
Special note: Dr. Helen Shui is truly a doctor, but is working under a pseudonym for privacy reasons. Dr. Lynne Kramer is using her real name.
Music by Helen Shui and Caplixo. Cover art by Lynne Kramer.
Sources:
'It put him into full-blown cardiac arrest:' Tick bite changes Columbia County man's life by Heather Crawford
Alpha-Gal: Radiolab October 27, 2016
Return of Alpha-Gal: Radiolab December 10, 2021
Meet the Doc Who Discovered the Infamous Red Meat Allergy Spread by Ticks by Wesley P. Hester
MMWR, Health Care Provider Knowledge Regarding Alpha-gal Syndrome — United States, March–May 2022
Doctors often miss symptoms of meat allergy linked to lone star ticks, CDC finds by Erika Edwards
B Cell Responses in the Development of Mammalian Meat Allergy by Jessica L. Chandrasekhar, Kelly M. Cox, and Loren D. Erickson
Diagnosis and management of patients with the α-Gal syndrome by TAE Platts-Mills, MD,PhD, RC Li, DO,PhD, B Keshavarz, PhD, AR Smith, MD, and JM Wilson, MD,PhD
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