NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A tick-born disease and type of food allergy called Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is considered a disease of concern by the Tennessee Department of Health.
Alpha-gal is a sugar molecule found in most mammals like deer, pigs and cows, but not in people. It is most often transmitted to humans through Lone Star tick bites, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“As far as we know today, the ticks, when they’re feeding on us, will produce Alpha-gal. So we don’t produce it, but they are producing it, and in that exchange, the Alpha-gal that they’re producing is exchanged while they’re collecting the blood from us. They’re exchanging Alpha-gal with us, and that creates a sensitization event,” said Angela Tucker, an education and training specialist at the University of Tennessee who studies ticks and the diseases they carry…