Lone Star tick bites can cause red meat allergies; here is what to know
The Lone Star tick is hungry and it’s looking for its next host. That could be you.
Here’s what the tick wants: A body to hang onto for as long as possible and a delicious meal consisting of your blood.
And here’s what you could get in return: A possible mild-to-severe allergy to red meat or other mammal products. It hardly seems like a fair trade on the human end.
Tim Mcdermott, an assistant professor and extension educator of agricultural and natural resources in Franklin County for the Ohio State University Extension, said the Lone Star tick is one of five tick species with medical importance to humans, domesticated animals and livestock found in Ohio.
Although they’re not originally from here, they have been found in Ohio and other states in recent years, and a bite could cause diseases or other side effects, including but not limited to southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) or Alpha-gal syndrome, which could cause an allergy to red meat.
Planning to go out into the woods this summer? Here’s what you should know about the Lone Star tick.
Where did the Lone Star tick come from?
The species likely migrated up from the southern U.S., and can now be found all along the eastern coast and portions of the Midwest, including Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Ticks are not insects. They are parasitic arachnids more closely related to spiders.
Mcdermott said in Ohio, they are most commonly found in heavily wooded counties and along the Ohio River.
Female Lone Star ticks can be identified by a large, diamond-shaped shield, which typically has a single white dot, alluding to its name. Males are a darker brown, sometimes with patches of red.
Ticks can be active all 12 months of the year, and there is a risk of getting bitten anytime. The species can also go months between feeding and has a two-to-three-year life cycle.
“Every day is tick season, but we have increasing activity heading into the summer,” Mcdermott said. “Plus, people tend to be outside more.”
What disease can a Lone Star tick give you?
All ticks have certain diseases they vector, and Lone Star ticks are no different, Mcdermott said.
The bite of a Lone Star tick has been linked to transmissions of southern tick-associated rash illness, or STARI and Alpha-gal syndrome, which can cause the allergy to red meat.
Other associated diseases include ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia, according to the Tick Research Lab of Pennsylvania. They carry the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease but are unable to transmit it to a host.
Do all Lone Star tick bites cause a red meat allergy?
No. The allergy to red meat, or Alphagal syndrome, is most often (but not always) caused by a Lone Star tick bite.
According to the Mayo Clinic, when a Lone Star tick bites someone, the bite transmits a sugar molecule called alpha-gal into a person’s body, which can trigger an immune reaction in some people.
This reaction can later produce midto-severe allergic reactions to red meat, including beef, pork or lamb, or other mammal products.
Symptoms of the allergy have been found in people in Ohio as recently as 2014, Mcdermott said, and can have a variety of presentations, including hives or vomiting. It can also be difficult to diagnose.
How to protect against ticks
It’s important to take steps to protect both humans and animals against all types of ticks. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources recommends these measures to decrease chances of being bitten:
● Know when and where to expect ticks. For example, deer ticks, also called blacklegged ticks, are found in the woods, dog ticks are in grassy areas and road edges and Lone Star ticks are commonly in forest areas.
● Use repellents according to labels. First, purchase an insect repellent containing permethrin. Then, apply it to your pants and boots and allow it to dry.
● Tuck pants into socks and boots and tuck shirts into pants.
● Check yourself, family and pets regularly and remove ticks immediately, if found.
● Use anti-tick products on pets.
● Ask veterinarians about Lyme vaccines for pets where deer ticks are found.
The potential for contracting a tick vector disease is increasing over time, Mcdermott said, although there is not one easy explanation as to why. The percentage of ticks carrying diseases is increasing and two new tick species have been found in Ohio since 2020, after the discovery of the Lone Star tick.
What to do if you’re bitten by a tick
If you are bitten by a tick, the ODNR recommends not panicking. It’s important to remove the tick carefully, including its mouthparts, from skin using tweezers.
Mcdermott says many of the “odd removal methods” he’s heard of, including using a heat source, perfume, essential oils, nail polish and other methods are myths and should not be attempted.
Instead, just stick to tweezers and monitor your health over the following days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes a 36-48 hour window for disease transmission, but it is possible that transmission can occur sooner.