Reported Case of 2nd Tick Species Associated with Alpha Gal Allergy
A novel Australian tick Ixodes (Endopalpiger) australiensis inducing mammalian meat allergy after tick bite.
Mackenzie Kwak ,Colin Somerville , and Sheryl van Nunen.
Asia Pacific Allergy. 2018 Jul;8(3):e31
Reported Case of 2nd Tick Species Associated with Alpha Gal Allergy
We report a tick associated with the enhancement of mammalian meat anaphylaxis after tick bite which is novel for both Australia and the world and establishes Ixodes (Endopalpiger) australiensis as a second tick species associated with mammalian meat allergy in Australia.
Tick-induced mammalian meat allergy has become an emergent allergy world-wide after van Nunen et al. first described the association between tick bites and the development of mammalian meat allergy in 2007. Cases of mammalian meat allergy have now been reported on all 6 continents where humans are bitten by ticks, in 17 countries worldwide.
Identification of tick species associated with the development of mammalian meat allergy is crucial to the uptake of public health measures to prevent tick bites from culprit tick species, for both individuals living in these tick-endemic areas and those who choose to visit these regions.
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