Ticks are challenging mosquitos for the title of "most dangerous critter out there". Lyme disease. Babesiosis. Colorado tick fever. Rocky Mountain tick fever (for those not living in Colorado, presumably). Ehrlichiosis. Powassan disease. Bourbon virus (love to know the story behind the name). Tick-borne relapsing fever (because why stop when you've got a good thing going). And many more. A recently published study reported that ticks can transmit the prions that cause a fatal brain-wasting disease in deer and other cervids. But wait, there's more! Now comes word of something called Alpha-gal syndrome, which has nothing to do with domineering females but instead is named for alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose), a sugar found in tick spit and in most mammals. Especially mammals we humans like to eat. Once bitten by a tick, a human can become allergic to this sugar and then react with hives, rash, or even anaphylaxis when eating red meat and products made from mammals (eg. dairy products, gelatin, and even some medications). I assume that I'd know if I caught this after being bitten by a tick last summer since I eat cheese all the time. On the other hand, some people have reported being allergic to red meat but not to dairy, so who knows. I'm pretty much live-and-let-live when it comes to my fellow creatures on this planet. but I despise ticks and would cheerfully yeet them all into the sun if I could. Comments are closed.
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