First death reported from meat allergy caused by tick bite

NBC ^ | 11 13 2025 | Aria Bendix

[yesthatjallen]

A 47-year-old airline pilot from New Jersey is the first person known to have died from alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite.

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine publicly reported the cause of death Wednesday after months of investigation. Their findings were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

The man’s death had previously been seen as a mystery, since medical examinations showed no evidence of a heart attack or other life-threatening issues.

According to the researchers, the man started feeling sick four hours after consuming a hamburger at a barbecue in September 2024. When he returned home, he was well enough to mow the lawn and read the paper. But shortly after 7:30 p.m. that day, the man’s son found him unconscious on the bathroom floor with vomit around him. An autopsy ruled that his death was sudden and unexplained.

Two weeks earlier, the man had become ill after eating a steak dinner on a camping trip with his wife and children. The researchers said he woke up at 2 a.m. with severe diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain, and later told one of his sons that he thought he was going to die. However, he and his wife were uncertain of what had happened, so they decided not to consult a doctor.

SNIP

[Captainpaintball]

Not in Canada, either.