Meat allergy after tick bite could lead to heart attacks

A tick bite can make you allergic to meat. If this has been established for a few years already by the scientific community, we now know a little more about the consequences of this affliction. And they are not the least since, according to an American study recently published in the specialized journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, meat allergy could lead to heart attacks and strokes.

A follow-up study

To come to this disturbing conclusion, researchers at the University of Medicine of Virginia followed 118 patients. They then noticed that those who were sensitive to allergens found in red meat had 30% more fatty plaque buildup in their arteries than others. What is more, the latter represented the characteristics of unstable plaques that can cause heart attacks.

People with allergies to meat are sensitive toalpha-gal, a kind of sugar present in this food. Three to eight hours after eating mammal meat (especially beef, pork and lamb, including kidneys and offal) and sometimes even derived products (food or medicinal gelatin, dairy products), they may suffer from hives, nausea , swelling or even experiencing difficulty in breathing, increased heart rate and low blood pressure. And it happens very unfortunately that these symptoms lead to death.

Thomas Platts-Mils, also a professor at the University of Medicine of Virginia, was the first to have alerted to alpha-gal allergy in 2009. He and his colleagues had followed and examined many American patients who had developed a sudden and intriguing allergy to meat. The researchers then realized that 80% of these people had been bitten by a tick called Lone Star: these bites had an increase in alpha-gal antibodies twenty times greater than normal.

More and more people affected

And in recent years, these damn beasts have been rampant more and more. “In 2015, more than 5,000 individuals were affected in the United States (southern, eastern and central states), more than 1,400 in Australia (including 70% near the beaches of Sydney), 4 in Central America , a few cases in Asia, 68 in Europe (Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden and Spain). For the moment, in France, this disease remains exceptional. There were 14 cases in 2012 “, explained Professor Christian Perronne, vice-president President of the French Federation against tick-borne diseases, at the New Obs Last year. And to specify, that in spite of the number of cases in increase all over the world, “there are still doctors who send their patients in psychiatry by evoking a phobia with the meat, without thinking that it can be a question of a real allergy! “.

But sometimes some people are sensitive to alpha-gal without having any symptoms. And today, the new study from the University of Medicine of Virginia has successfully linked allergen sensitivity to the build-up of fatty plaques in the arteries. “This new discovery, made in a small group of subjects, suggests that red meat is a still poorly understood factor in heart disease,” said lead author of the study, Coleen McNamara. “These preliminary findings highlight the need for more in-depth clinical research on larger groups from different regions,” she said.

So a blood test could be developed to spot people sensitive to alpha-gal, the study authors say. “A blood test could spot even individuals who have no apparent symptoms of meat allergy and help them avoid it,” says Jeff Wilson, co-author of the study. However, don’t panic, you don’t have to become a vegetarian right away. “For now, we only recommend people with allergy symptoms to avoid meat,” he concludes.