Study finds more people may carry marker for tick-linked meat allergy than thought

A surprisingly high number of people may carry a biological marker associated with alpha-gal syndrome, a meat allergy linked to tick bites. Alpha-gal syndrome occurs when a tick bite triggers an immune response to a sugar molecule found in red meat. Researchers are still working to understand why only some people who carry the marker actually develop the full allergy. The findings suggest the condition may be more widespread than current diagnoses indicate. Many questions remain about the mechanisms behind why certain individuals progress to symptomatic illness.