Unusually aggressive lone star ticks, common in the south-east, are spreading to areas previously too cold for them

Blood-sucking ticks that trigger a bizarre allergy to meat in the people they bite are exploding in number and spreading across the US, to the extent that they could cover the entire eastern half of the country and infect millions of people, experts have warned.

Lone star ticks have taken advantage of rising temperatures by the human-caused climate crisis to expand from their heartland in the south-east US to areas previously too cold for them, in recent years marching as far north as New York and even Maine, as well as pushing westwards.

The ticks are known to be unusually aggressive and can provoke an allergy in bitten people whereby they cannot eat red meat without enduring a severe reaction, such as breaking out in hives and even the risk of heart attacks. The condition, known as alpha-gal syndrome, has proliferated from just a few dozen known cases in 2009 to as many as 450,000 now.

  • gheesh@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    Well, looks like the system is somehow self-regulating, as meat consumption is one of the major contributors to climate change.

    • Wolf314159@startrek.website
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      12 hours ago

      “The ticks are turning people vegan” does sound remarkably similar to “the frogs are turning people gay”.

  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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    17 hours ago

    That reminds me to ask: do any plant-based foods have B12 that’s bioavailable?

      • Maeve@kbin.earth
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        17 hours ago

        Thanks. In my food desert, that translates to One-A-Day, lol. I do love sh take, when I can get them.

        • pugsnroses77@sh.itjust.works
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          11 hours ago

          yeah honestly i rarely get it from “natural” sources, a lot of foods are fortified with it and most multivits have them. i dont worry about it though - our modern ag system is sterile in a way that makes it more scarce. most livestock need it supplemented

      • Maeve@kbin.earth
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        16 hours ago

        I’ve looked for it. I’ll have to request it and hope my ride comes through. Thanks!