ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – New research out of the University of Virginia confirms the nation’s first recorded death tied to Alpha-Gal, the tick-born allergy to red meat.
It started with a mystery. A healthy 47-year-old dad in New Jersey suddenly collapsed after a backyard cookout and no one knew why.
But what happened to him could happen to anyone who spends time outdoors. Experts say the growing tick population means more people will be at risk.
Doctors at UVA traced his death back to Alpha-Gal Syndrome, what many call the “meat allergy.” It’s caused by the bite of a Lone Star tick.
The man had eaten a hamburger just 37 minutes before he was found.
Blood samples later showed an extreme reaction. One key researcher told me his level of tryptase, an enzyme released into the bloodstream during an allergic reaction, was 2000, far beyond anything he’d typically seen in people with Alpha-Gal.
“The highest I’ve ever seen in a patient that survived was 90, and so something catastrophic happens at the end. And I don’t think we understand that,” said Thomas Platts-Mills, British allergy researcher and director of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
Platts-Mills helped discover Alpha-Gal, and he says the warning signs matter.
Severe stomach pain three to five hours after eating beef, pork, or lamb should be treated like a possible anaphylactic emergency.
Nanci Bell was diagnosed with Alpha-Gal in 2023; she successfully did the SAAT treatment and is in remission.
“It saddens me because the SAAT treatment is not known enough,” said Bell.
A chiropractor and acupuncturist who’s treated dozens of Alpha-Gal patients with the SAT method, a treatment she says is life-changing when done correctly, tells me not all providers understand the condition or follow the proper SAT, steps which can leave patients misdiagnosed or untreated.
“It has probably taken more lives than we know about because the anaphalaxis,” said Dr. Cheryl Hanly, a chiropractor and owner of Creedmoor Wellness Center.
“There’s a list of SAT-certified train practitioners, so people can look up the ones that are trained in the SAAT protocol and that don’t deviate from it,” said Shenna Shotwell with Creedmoor Wellness.
They warn that even after remission, anyone who’s experienced anaphylaxis should avoid red meat forever, and that the allergy can be triggered by more than food, from grill fumes to animal-based products like pet food or even mascara. They also stress the importance of only eating clean grass-fed beef, if they are able to reintroduce it to their diet.
UVA researchers say they expect more Alpha-Gal cases to surface nationwide. They’re urging anyone with unusual reactions to red meat to get tested and talk with a provider familiar with the allergy.
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