Food allergens
Richard F. Lockey, Dennis K. Ledford in Allergens and Allergen Immunotherapy, 2020
Several studies report evidence that tick bites may be responsible for the development of α-gal specific IgE. In the United States, the Amblyomma americanum, or lone star tick, has been implicated, whereas in France and Australia, the Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes holocyclus, respectively, are thought to be the culprit species [75]. Case reports of tick bites followed by subsequent reactions to beef, the presence of α-gal IgE, and the regional distribution of the responsible tick has provided convincing, although circumstantial, evidence that tick bites may trigger the production of α-gal IgE, the subsequent red meat allergy syndrome and reactions to cetuximab.
Food Allergens
Richard F. Lockey, Dennis K. Ledford in Allergens and Allergen Immunotherapy, 2014
Several studies report evidence that tick bites may be responsible for the development of α-gal specific IgE. In the United States, the Amblyomma americanum, or lone star tick, has been implicated, whereas in France and Australia, the Ixodes ricinus and I. holocyclus, respectively, are thought to be the culprit species [62]. Case reports of tick bites followed by subsequent reactions to beef, the presence of α-gal IgE, and the regional distribution of the responsible tick have provided convincing, although circumstantial, evidence that tick bites may trigger the production of α-gal IgE, the subsequent red meat allergy syndrome, and reactions to cetuximab.
Ticks
Gail Miriam Moraru, Jerome Goddard in The Goddard Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, Seventh Edition, 2019
Very similar to Amblyomma americanum in aggressiveness and nonspecific feeding habits; basically, where the southernmost distribution of A. americanum stops, A. cajennense picks up and continues southward throughout Central and South America. The longevity of larvae, nymphs, and adults and the numbers of eggs laid by engorged females are similar to those of A. americanum; as with A. americanum, A. cajennense has long mouthparts and produces painful bites.
Alpha-gal syndrome: challenges to understanding sensitization and clinical reactions to alpha-gal
Published in Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics, 2020
José de la Fuente, Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz, Iván Pacheco
Among the co-factors associated to the AGS, several evidence show that exposure to tick bites is an essential risk factor for the development of this syndrome [6]: (i) tick bites elicit an increase in the levels of IgE to α-Gal of 20-fold or greater [2], (ii) most AGS patients have a history of tick bites [26,34,38], (iii) AGS patients have antibodies reactive to tick antigens [2], and (iv) a strong positive correlation between anti-α-Gal IgE and anti-tick IgE levels was reported [2,3]. However, some patients that develop strong allergic reactions to tick bites and have high levels of IgE to α-Gal are mammalian meat tolerant [9]. This finding suggests that mammalian meat allergy is a special type of allergy within a wide spectrum of allergies related to tick bites. AGS has been associated with several tick species including Amblyomma americanum (USA), Amblyomma sculptum (Brazil), Amblyomma testudinarium, and Haemaphysalis longicornis (Japan), Ixodes holocyclus (Australia) and the principal vector of Lyme disease in Europe, Ixodes ricinus [8,39]. Surprisingly, Ixodes scapularis, the main vector of Lyme disease in the USA, which produces α-Gal [40,41] and is closely related to I. ricinus, is almost certainly not a major cause of AGS in the USA [6].
Diagnosis & management of alpha-gal syndrome: lessons from 2,500 patients
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Immunology, 2020
Following identification of AGS, patients with the same allergy in Australia, Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, and South Africa have been reported [6]. Owing to the geographical range and analysis of tick salivary factors, the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) appears to be the primary cause of AGS in the U.S.; however, no case–control study has confirmed this link. An association between AGS and tick bites has been reported throughout the world, despite the differences in tick species and populations [6,8]. Blood levels of alpha-gal IgE often decrease in patients who avoid recurrent tick bites but the rate of decline varies from patient to patient [7]. The titer of alpha-gal specific IgE does not predict reaction severity; rather dose (amount consumed) and presence of co-factors (alcohol, activity) affect the delay before reaction and resulting clinical manifestations [4]. In keeping with other food allergies, clinical experience suggests that the presence of co-factors appears to lower the eliciting dose required for reactivity but this requires further study in AGS [9]. Specific to AGS, recent tick bites appear to make patients more sensitive to prior tolerated exposures or even lower threshold for reactivity. Table 1 is a summary of clinical points accumulated over the last decade caring for patients with AGS.
Tick transmission of toxoplasmosis
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2019
However, three ticks, Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick), Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain wood tick) and Amblyomma americanum (Lone star tick) did show apparent transmission in the laboratory [19]. Infection in the tick Dermacentor variabilis and Amblyomma americanum appears to have been acquired in the larva or nymph stages and to have been transmitted to hosts through feeding in the adult stage. Infection in Dermacentor andersoni appears to have been carried transovarial through the eggs from the infection as larva, nymphs or adults to all three stages of the succeeding generation and from the nymphs to hosts through the bite.
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