I almost died of red meat allergy... caused by a tick bite
Deerstalker tells how he developed rare reaction
‘My throat began to tighten’ ‘I was struggling to breathe’
A DEERSTALKER almost died after developing a rare red meat allergy following a tick bite.
Patrick Sinclair has suffered two anaphylactic shocks in the past nine months from eating roast beef and lamb after contracting the condition from parasites living on red deer.
Mr Sinclair, 62, believes he was bitten while hunting game on the Strathmore Estate near Durness, Sutherland.
The grandfather has thanked the paramedics who twice saved his life and said he wants to warn others of the potential side effects of tick bites.
His condition leaves patients unable to eat any red meats, but is not triggered by white meat or fish.
Mr Sinclair has not officially been diagnosed with the condition and is waiting to see a specialist.
He said: ‘It was in September last year and I’d eaten some lamb in the evening. I got very itchy after going to bed and took some antihistamines because I assumed it was hay fever. The next morning I had another nibble of lamb and that really set me off.
‘My throat began to tighten and I was struggling to breathe and felt shaky. I was trying to stay calm but my son told me to call NHS 24.
‘I described my symptoms to the operator, which included having trouble swallowing, and she said it sounded like anaphylaxis kicking in.’
An ambulance crew gave Mr Sinclair a dose of epinephrine, which returned his throat to a normal size.
Assuming the attack was a one-off, he continued eating red meat. But a similar experience in December saw him take to the internet.
After stumbling across an academic paper published by the US National Library of Medicine last month, he thinks he now has the answer.
Mr Sinclair said: ‘What seems to be happening is that my body is mistaking meat sugars for something that is identified in tick saliva. I work with red deer every day, so because of this I’m going to have to look at my future here.’
The paper, Tick Bites and Red Meat Allergy, details a delayed reaction in sufferers of bites of up to ten hours, with the saliva remaining dormant in some suffers for up to six months. Patients in the study also complained of being allergic to red meat derivatives, such as dairy and gelatine.
The study focuses on the American Lone Star tick, which carries a sugar molecule named alpha-gal, from the blood of mammals it feeds on. The tick is not found in the UK, but scientists say there are a handful of documented cases in Europe where the condition has been developed as a result of bites by red deer ticks.
Mr Sinclair, who has worked on the 20,000-acre estate for 25 years, believes he has developed the allergy following years of tick bites while taking parties out shooting.
He has shown the study to his GP and pharmacist and is waiting for official confirmation that he has the condition.
The tick bite allergy was discovered by Professor Thomas Platts-Mills, a British consultant who has spent 30 years working in the United States.
In 2012, London surgeon Nigel Kellow became the first person in the UK to be diagnosed with alpha-gal allergy, six months after being bitten by ticks while on holiday on Dartmoor. Since then there have been six reported cases, but Mr Sinclair is the only one to have come close to death.