Did you know that people can develop an allergy to meat from mammals such as cows and pigs? This is called alpha-gal syndrome.
An interesting article on this topic was published in JAMA NETWORK by Mollah and colleagues online on December 8, 2023. It is intended to provide education to the general public and was made available on JAMA’s Patient Page.
This blog is based entirely on their article. At the end I will show you how to access the original article for free.
Alpha-gal syndrome is an allergy to a sugar molecule “present on the cells of most mammals (cows, pigs, lambs, goats).” If a person is allergic to this sugar molecule, “eating those animals or their products (such as milk, cheese, or gelatin) may result in an allergic reaction, typically within 2-6 hours.”
The reaction can be “mild to life-threatening…”. Symptoms “may include swelling of the lips, tongue, throat, or eyelids; hives; cough; difficulty breathing; wheezing; heartburn; nausea; vomiting; abdominal pain; diarrhea; or decreased blood pressure.”
Mild reactions can be treated with an antihistamine, but severe reactions may require an injection with epinephrine with or without other treatments in an emergency room.
People with the alpha-gal syndrome should have an “epinephrine auto-injector available in the event of a severe reaction in the future.”
This syndrome is “associated with tick bites, most commonly from the Lone Star tick in the US …” The “tick injects a type of sugar molecule (galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose), also called alpha-gal, which leads to the formation of an antibody,”
Diagnosis may require a blood test that can find antibodies “against the alpha-gal sugar molecule.”
Anyone allergic to alpha-gal should “stop eating mammalian meat (such as beef, pork, or lamb) and should be vigilant to avoid future tick bites.”
There are also certain medications that can trigger an alpha-gal reaction; these medications will need to be avoided in patients with alpha-gal syndrome. If you have the syndrome, be sure your doctor knows so he/she can avoid prescribing these medicines.
Allergic patients may also need to stop using “mammalian-based products (such as cow’s milk, cheese, or gelatin).”
To see the original article by Mollah and colleagues, type exactly what you see below on your search bar:
doi:10.1001/jama.2023.23097
Peter M. Hartmann, MD
Family Medicine & Psychiatry
