The Lone Star tick is not found only in Texas. It gets its name from a single spot on its back. The CDC says the tick’s range includes the eastern, south eastern and south central states.
What’s the Problem?
The Lone Star tick bite can cause a red rash. The rash plus other symptoms may clear up with use of the antibiotic doxycycline. Yet, if treatment is not timely, a chronic problem can develop. Lone Star tick saliva can cause a permanent allergy to the eating of red meat. The Lone Star tick is not alone in this. So-called seed ticks may do the same.
Lone Star Tick Bite Chemistry
Lone Star tick saliva contains galactose-α-1,3-galactose. What is that? Often called alpha gal, it is a molecule made up of two galactose sugar units joined a certain way. What’s surprising is alpha gal has caused some to contract severe allergy responses to eating red meat.
Symptomatology
Most serious is delayed anaphylaxia. This trait can develop hours after exposure. After an onset of symptoms such as rash or hives, breathing may be greatly restricted. Oddly, persons with certain blood types may be immune to such a response.
Allergic Response
Allergic response involves a specific antibody, Immunoglobulin E (IgE). Even if it is present in very low levels, IgE can produce serious breathing related reactions. Alpha-gal-specific IgE in the blood can attach to mast cells. A mast cell is a cell that contains basophil granules and is often found in connective tissue. If exposure to the allergen is repeated, these cells are triggered release granules that cause allergic response.
Note: You might also enjoy What is It Good For? The Blood-Sucking Mosquito
References: In-depth Video Lecture:
[…] The Lone Star tick is by no means limited in its range to the state of Texas, but receives its name because of the single spot or “lone star” upon its back. […]
What a wonderful thing Mother Nature is. She seems to have it in for us in so many interesting ways!
Of all the little critters out there… toxic spiders, snakes, mosquitoes, yellow jackets, you name it… the one most to be feared by the majority of us is, in my estimate, the tick. I’d like to give it a new name, resembling Latin: Tickus stinkus.
Amazing. A tick is an invertebrate. These creatures are much lower in the animal kingdom than creatures producing red meat. That substance, alpha gal, you said is a sugar. Yet red meat is mostly protein.