WEBVTT - How Do Ticks Cause Meat Allergies?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Bogelbaum. Here the food allergies are a bummer,

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<v Speaker 1>but for meat lovers, Alpha gal syndrome, also called mammalian

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<v Speaker 1>meat allergy, is something of a tragedy. Alpha gal is

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<v Speaker 1>the name of a sugar molecule found in most mammals,

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<v Speaker 1>but not in humans and not in fish, birds, or reptiles.

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<v Speaker 1>The scientists in the United States first began seeing allergic

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<v Speaker 1>reactions to red meat in the nineteen nineties, which they

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<v Speaker 1>traced specifically to alpha gal. By two thousand six, cases

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<v Speaker 1>have been confirmed in thirty nine States, and we're also

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<v Speaker 1>popping up in Australia. Alpha gal syndrome causes a mild

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<v Speaker 1>too severe allergy to the meat of mammals such as cows, pigs, sheep, rabbits, deer,

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<v Speaker 1>and others, as well as mammal products like gelatine and dairy.

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<v Speaker 1>Its symptoms include a lot of the usual allergy symptoms, hives, running, nose,

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<v Speaker 1>nausea and vomiting, a swelling of the eyelids, lips, throat,

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<v Speaker 1>and tongue, shortness of breath, and possibly anaphylaxis, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a severe body wide allergic reaction. But people don't just

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<v Speaker 1>come down with alpha gal syndrome for no reason. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just the most recently discovered in dignity, brought on by

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<v Speaker 1>the arachnid that seems to ruin everything it touches, the tick.

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<v Speaker 1>It took scientists a few years to discover how exactly

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<v Speaker 1>people were becoming allergic to meet but by two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>nine they've narrowed the cause down to the bite of

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<v Speaker 1>the lone startick, discovered by a scientist who noticed that

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<v Speaker 1>the map of the cases of alpha gal allergy overlapped

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<v Speaker 1>almost perfectly with the distribution of the tick, which lives

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<v Speaker 1>in much of the eastern US and Mexico. A lone

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<v Speaker 1>star ticks look very much like any other North American tick,

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<v Speaker 1>except the females have a white spot is sometimes shaped

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<v Speaker 1>a bit like a star on their backs. In Australia,

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<v Speaker 1>alpha GL sensitivity has been linked to the hard bodied

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<v Speaker 1>paralysis tick. Both ticks probably pick up the alpha gal

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<v Speaker 1>when they consume the blood of those other mammals that

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<v Speaker 1>have it, like cows or sheep. In order to develop

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<v Speaker 1>a sensitivity to alpha gal, a tick must attach to

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<v Speaker 1>you only long enough to leave a bite mark and

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<v Speaker 1>inject alpha gal into the skin. After that, your immune

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<v Speaker 1>system takes over and destroys the invasive sugar molecules, which

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<v Speaker 1>is all well and good, except that your immune system

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<v Speaker 1>then remembers those molecules as being potentially harmful invaders. So

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<v Speaker 1>the next time that you have a nice steak for dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>your immune system may clock the alpha gel that you

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<v Speaker 1>ingested and release antibodies that trigger the release of histamines

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<v Speaker 1>to fight off the sugar, which it doesn't understand is harmless.

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<v Speaker 1>One unusual thing about an alpha gel allergy is that

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<v Speaker 1>the allergic reaction might not pick in for three to

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<v Speaker 1>four hours after eating red meat, so it can be

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<v Speaker 1>one of the more difficult allergies to trace to the source.

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<v Speaker 1>As always with tick born conditions, prevention is the best

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<v Speaker 1>policy if you're going outdoors in a place where ticks

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<v Speaker 1>are known to live, and especially into what an area

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<v Speaker 1>is there where long sleeved shirts and pants and apply

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<v Speaker 1>insect repellent. Today's episode is based on the article Alpa

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<v Speaker 1>gal syndro the meat allergy Caused by a tick on

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<v Speaker 1>houseworks dot com, written by Jesselyn Shield. The brain stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of by heart radio in partnership with ustaf

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For

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