Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by CoolHand on Monday June 19 2017, @06:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-bacon-though? dept.

First comes the unscratchable itching, and the angry blossoming of hives. Then stomach cramping, and—for the unluckiest few—difficulty breathing, passing out, and even death. In the last decade and a half, thousands of previously protein-loving Americans have developed a dangerous allergy to meat. And they all have one thing in common: the lone star tick.

Red meat, you might be surprised to know, isn't totally sugar-free. It contains a few protein-linked saccharides, including one called galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, or alpha-gal, for short. More and more people are learning this the hard way, when they suddenly develop a life-threatening allergy to that pesky sugar molecule after a tick bite.

Yep, one bite from the lone star tick—which gets its name from the Texas-shaped splash of white on its back—is enough to reprogram your immune system to forever reject even the smallest nibble of perfectly crisped bacon. For years, physicians and researchers only reported the allergy in places the lone star tick calls home, namely the southeastern United States. But recently it's started to spread. The newest hot spots? Duluth, Minnesota, Hanover, New Hampshire, and the eastern tip of Long Island, where at least 100 cases have been reported in the last year. Scientists are racing to trace its spread, to understand if the lone star tick is expanding into new territories, or if other species of ticks are now causing the allergy.

The vegans did it?


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @07:21PM (8 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @07:21PM (#528097)

    So that's how it happened; I must have been bitten by a lone star tick. Except I was living in Portland Oregon at the time when I developed a lifelong meat allergy, so I'm going to blame Michael David Crawford for ruining my entire life. Do you have any idea how much money I've wasted on organic vegan food when I could have been eating cheap meat instead.

  • (Score: 2) by jcross on Monday June 19 2017, @07:35PM (7 children)

    by jcross (4009) on Monday June 19 2017, @07:35PM (#528102)

    It might not be lifelong. I've heard that after some years of avoiding exposure to the ticks, the allergy fades, and I know of at least one case of that being true.

    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @07:45PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @07:45PM (#528105)

      I think we should deport anybody who doesn't eat meat, no matter what their excuse is. "Allergy" my ass. They're a bunch of vegan Muslims and should be deported.

      • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday June 19 2017, @08:10PM (2 children)

        by Gaaark (41) on Monday June 19 2017, @08:10PM (#528115) Journal

        And AC's too.

        'Cause!

        Earache, my eye! Turn down that MUSIC!!

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 2) by edIII on Monday June 19 2017, @08:19PM (1 child)

          by edIII (791) on Monday June 19 2017, @08:19PM (#528121)

          Dude.... I'm listening to that song right now as I read your post........

          --
          Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
          • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday June 19 2017, @09:16PM

            by Gaaark (41) on Monday June 19 2017, @09:16PM (#528154) Journal

            I know... that's why i posted it!

            By the way... you can take off the pink tutu now. :)

            --
            --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @08:07PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @08:07PM (#528114)

      AIDS can be cured by raping virgin girls, and you can't become infected again either.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @08:44PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @08:44PM (#528138)

        Doesn't that only work when combined with circumcision?

    • (Score: 2) by vux984 on Monday June 19 2017, @09:16PM

      by vux984 (5045) on Monday June 19 2017, @09:16PM (#528156)

      My brother in law developed a moderately short lived meat allergy (as in it lasted a few years) and then it went away. I wonder if it could be related to a tick bite. As I recall, he did travel to Houston, and to New Orleans around when it happened.