AGAWAM, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A man in New Jersey is dead following what experts said is a meat-related allergy triggered by a tick bite, marking the first reported deadly case linked with these unusual circumstances.

The lone star tick, found in the northeast, south and the Midwest, can be associated with alpha-gal syndrome, also known as “the red meat allergy.” “We’ve all heard of Lyme disease. There’s Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but you can also get certain sensitivities. One is called alpha-gal syndrome or alpha-gal allergy,” said Natasha Wright, an entomologist with Braman Termite and Pest Elimination.

Wright said alpha-gal is a sugar molecule that exists in pretty much all mammals except monkeys. Humans do not have alpha-gal. “It’s also in the saliva of ticks, so when a tick bites

See Full Page