Health Officials Raise Awareness of Alpha-Gal Syndrome as Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Cases Rise Across U.S.

Health officials are raising awareness of alpha-gal syndrome, a life-threatening meat allergy triggered by lone star tick bites that affects an estimated 450,000 Americans. Driven by climate change, the tick's range is expanding northward into the Northeast and Great Lakes. Despite rising cases, a significant medical awareness gap persists, with only 25% of surveyed doctors aware of the condition. In response, states like Illinois have passed legislative measures like the TICK Act to mandate case reporting and improve public education.

Claims

• ▪Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the TICK Act in August 2025, requiring healthcare providers to report new alpha-gal syndrome diagnoses to local health departments.
• ▪The lone star tick, traditionally found in southern states, is expanding its range northward into the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Martha's Vineyard.
• ▪In 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved the injectable drug Xolair to help reduce severe allergic reactions from accidental food exposure in alpha-gal patients.
• ▪Alpha-gal syndrome triggers allergic reactions to mammalian meats like beef, pork, and lamb, while poultry and seafood remain safe to consume.
• ▪A 2020 survey in 11 southern Illinois counties found that lone star ticks made up 80% of the collected tick population.
• ▪A survey by Rebecca Smith found that only 25% of surveyed medical professionals had heard of alpha-gal syndrome, and only 12% knew a diagnostic test existed.
• ▪The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in a 2023 study that roughly 450,000 Americans have developed alpha-gal syndrome.
• ▪Alpha-gal syndrome is prevalent in a belt of states from North Carolina and Virginia to Oklahoma, where the lone star tick is dominant.
• ▪The average timeline for a patient to receive an alpha-gal syndrome diagnosis has decreased from seven years to approximately 18 months over the last decade.
• ▪The Lauryn Russell Lyme Disease Prevention and Protection Act went into effect in Illinois on January 1, 2019, establishing a statewide Lyme Disease Task Force.