“The warming temperatures have led to an increase of reports of the lone star tick in Minnesota. It’s a species that is traditionally found in the southern United States, and can give people an allergy to red meat.”
I already hated ticks before, and now there’s one that can make me allergic to steak and burgers? Kill it with fire!
The news always calls it a red meat allergy, but the alpha-gal carbohydrate is found in almost all mammals, so no pork or dairy either. Although primates (including humans) are still on the menu. Maybe dolphins and whales, too? I forget. Maybe there’ll be a market in the near future for hypoallergenic whale cheese?
My wife’s cousin’s husband got bitten by one of those ticks in Kansas a couple years ago. It’s no joke. He gets a reaction from beef, pork, dairy, and gluten. He eats a lot of chicken and fish, and has to be very careful eating out. He carries an epipen when he goes out. The doctors told him it typically goes away after 6-12 months, but he’s going on three years now.
Nature getting pretty clever trying to fight back against climate change
I was just talking about ticks last night with my cousin from Michigan. He said when he was a kid he was outside 24/7 and never had a tick once, but just this year he’s found several on him. It makes sense given that migration patterns for pretty much everything are moving north, but damn. Ticks suck.
