Daisy Phillips, an 8-year-old yellow Lab, would like her walk now. Her mom, Texas Public Radio education reporter Camille Phillips, obliged on a recent lunch break in San Antonio. It's finally cool enough for midday walks again. It’s also cool enough for lone star ticks to come out of hiding during the day. Both Daisy and Camille are at risk of a bite, but only Camille could develop a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat from one.
That allergy is called alpha-gal syndrome, and it’s one of more than a dozen tick-borne diseases and conditions tracked by the Centers for Disease Control. Thomas Hart, PhD, is an expert in ticks and tick-borne diseases. He is an infectious disease microbiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Research and Education Institute, and he joined TPR’s Bonnie Petrie to talk all about lone star ticks, alpha-gal syndrome, and how to protect yourself while enjoying the comfortable autumn temperatures.
Why are there more ticks?
Tick season now stretches into late fall, and you can even find a tick in winter. Hart says we're seeing more ticks year over year, and they're moving. Lone star ticks, once concentrated in the Southeast, have spread north. Blacklegged ticks, which carry Lyme disease, have pushed south and west. Climate change is part of it. So is development. Suburbs move into forested areas, more people come into contact with ticks.
Why lone star ticks are different
Many ticks wait for you to brush past them. Lone star ticks come after you. Hart compares them to heat-seeking missiles, and they can sense carbon dioxide and body heat from up to 20 feet away. Late summer through late fall is also when "tick bombs" appear: clusters of tiny larval ticks that can leave you with dozens or hundreds of bites at once. Watch for them in tall grass, leaf litter, forest edges, lawns, parks, and even some paved paths. Golf courses are a favorite, especially the rough.
What is alpha-gal syndrome?
Alpha-gal is a sugar found in most mammals, and in ticks, but not in humans. A tick bite can expose you to it, and your immune system may learn to treat it as a threat. Later, eating beef, pork, or venison (and for some people, gelatin or dairy) can trigger nausea, vomiting, a rash, or in severe cases, anaphylaxis. At least one person has died from a reaction.
If you suspect you have it, see an allergist for a test. The good news is that for many people, the allergy fades within 6 to 12 months.
How to protect yourself
- Wear light-colored clothing so ticks are easier to spot.
- Tuck your pants into your socks.
- Treat clothing with permethrin spray and use a bug spray containing DEET.
- Do a thorough tick check when you come inside. Lone star ticks prefer the waistline and below the belt.
- Shower soon after coming in to wash off any hitchhikers.
- If you find a tick, remove it quickly. The sooner it's off, the lower your risk of getting sick.
- Save the tick and show it to your doctor.
- Not sure what you're looking at? Search "tick ID" online. Adult female lone star ticks are round and brown with a white dot on the back, but the smaller nymphs have no dot and are easy to miss.
While the number of tick bites people are experiencing is increasing every year, Hart doesn't want people to panic. He's still hiking as much as ever, just checking more often. "Keep yourself aware and educated," he says, and you can take informed risks.
