Sunday, November 18, 2012

Ticked Off About a Growing Allergy to Meat - ScienceNOW

Ticked Off About a Growing Allergy to Meat - ScienceNOW
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/11/ticked-off-about-a-growing-aller.html

"Tick bites have long been synonymous with bad news, responsible for transmitting diseases such as Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but this must be a carnivore or BBQ lover's worst nightmare. A growing body of research suggests that bites from a particular tick are causing an unusual allergic reaction to meat. At an allergy meeting last week, for example, a diagnostics lab presented evidence that the highest prevalence of the allergy is in the southeastern United States, where the tick primarily thrives. Yet American BBQ lovers and carnivores elsewhere may not rest easy; the allergy mysteriously afflicts people living in parts of the United States, even Hawaii, where the tick does not live."

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