Tick Season Again: One more reason to avoid tick bites

The Daily Apple™© Volume 2, Number 6

Saturday, June 15. 2013
PGY 40, Day #350

Tick Season Again: One more reason not to get tick bites ... Red Meat Allergy

I found at least one of the nasty creatures on me each day this this week.  Fortunately, none of them had stared feasting on me.  Nevertheless, it is a reminder that this is the time to be especially careful about ticks and the troubles they can cause.

It is is not bad enough that they are nasty creatures that can transmit Lyme Disease, and a long list of other infectious diseases (below), tick bites are now found to be associated with RED MEAT ALLERGY.  So, if you did not have enough reason to protect yourself from tick bites before, you can now add the risk of red meat allergy to your list. 

That's right, you have one more reason NOT to get tick bites.   New science has emerged from researchers at the University of Virginia the associates tick bites with RED MEAT ALLERGY, including, but not limited to life threatening anaphylaxis.  The symptoms of red meat allergy usually occur several hours after eating the red meat, because the offending agent, alpha-gal is most abundant in animal fat, so absorption is delayed.

Beware tick bites!

Have fun and be careful out there.  StepWisely®™© with us and Go to Health™©

Dr. Mike
Michael F. Mascia, MD, MPH

REFERENCES

CDC LIST OF TICK BORN DISEASES:

• Anaplasmosis is transmitted to humans by tick bites primarily from the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.

Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells. Most human cases of babesiosis in the United States are caused by Babesia microti. Babesia microti is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and is found primarily in the Northeast and upper Midwest.

Ehrlichiosis is transmitted to humans by the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found primarily in the southcentral and eastern U.S.

Lyme disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern U.S. and upper Midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.

Rickettsia parkeri Rickettsiosis is transmitted to humans by the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum).

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is transmitted by the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sangunineus) in the U.S. The brown dog tick and other tick species are associated with RMSF in Central and South America.

STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness) is transmitted via bites from the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found in the southeastern and eastern U.S.

Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected soft ticks. TBRF has been reported in 15 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming and is associated with sleeping in rustic cabins and vacation homes.

Tularemia is transmitted to humans by the dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Tularemia occurs throughout the U.S.

364D Rickettsiosis (Rickettsia phillipi, proposed) is transmitted to humans by the Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis ticks). This is a new disease that has been found in California.

   REFERENCES FOR TICK ASSOCIATE RED MEAT ALLERGY:

http://uvamagazine.org/research_and_discovery/article/ticked_off_carnivores/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324634304578537203916053308.html

REFERENCE FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF LYME DISEASE

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/9/1089.full

CDC LYME DISEASE LINK

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/