A tick bite sent Tony Farmer to the hospital with stomach pain so bad he could not sleep. Doctors found he had alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy caused by tick bites. Now doctors in Virginia are trying to answer a bigger question. Why do some people who get bitten develop the allergy, and others do not?
Alpha-gal syndrome is one of the most common tick illnesses in Southwest Virginia, according to news station WDBJ7. The tick behind it, the lone star tick, does not just live in Virginia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most alpha-gal cases happen in the South, East, and Central states. Those are the same states where lone star ticks live. That includes Texas.
Farmer runs a wastewater treatment plant in Big Island, Virginia. He got bitten by ticks while working outside. That night, sharp stomach pain sent him to the hospital. Doctors did not know what was wrong at first. A blood test found he had a severe case of alpha-gal.
"Sometimes it would hit me after I went to sleep. I didn't even want to go to bed," Farmer said. "It's not like a peanut allergy. You won't even know it. You just be out doing something, and three or four hours later, that's when it'll kick in."
That delay is what makes alpha-gal so hard to catch. A person eats a burger or bacon, feels fine, then gets sick hours later. Many people never connect the two.
Researchers at the University of Virginia have studied alpha-gal for 20 years. Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, an associate professor of medicine and a leading tick expert, said the allergy works in a strange way. A person can carry alpha-gal antibodies in their blood and still never get sick from meat.
"There are a lot of people in our community who make allergic antibodies to alpha-gal, but don't end up in the allergy clinic," Wilson said.
That finding changed the direction of his research. His team no longer just counts who has the antibodies. Now they want to know why some people get sick and others do not.
"We're trying to characterize and figure out if there's different quality of these antibodies, which could help explain why some people who get a tick bite start making allergic antibodies to alpha-gal, have overt red meat allergy, and some people don't," Wilson said. "It's possible that there's a qualitative difference in the antibodies between different people."
Wilson said doctors are exploring therapy and injections as possible treatments. Farmer found relief a different way. He tried acupuncture, and his symptoms went away.
"I felt ecstatic," Farmer said. "I love my job, but I make sure that I take precautions now when I go out there."
The CDC says the real number of alpha-gal cases is unknown. It could affect as many as 450,000 people nationwide. Over 110,000 suspected cases were logged between 2010 and 2022. Researchers link the tick's growing range to a warmer climate and more deer. Deer carry ticks from place to place.
El Tejano has reported on alpha-gal syndrome before, including how the lone star tick already lives across South Texas. Read that story here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/one-tick-bite-can-destroy-your-love-for-meat-and-south-texas-has-that-tick/
For now, the best defense is still prevention. Farmer has a simple message for anyone who works or plays outdoors.
"If you ever question it, to people at home, please check yourself," Farmer said. "When you get in the shower or whatever, if you see it, pull it."
Doctors say checking for ticks fast lowers the risk of a bite turning into a lifelong meat allergy. Next, the UVA team wants to test the quality of a person's antibodies. That could show why some people end up allergic and some do not. There is no timeline yet for new treatments for patients like Farmer.
