IL GOP lawmaker wants to raise awareness of 'meat allergy' tick disease

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Alpha-gal syndrome, also known as red meat allergy, has arrived in Illinois, with cases rising at higher rates since 2020. Now, a local lawmaker wants to raise awareness of the disease.

Alpha-gal is caused by the bite of the Lone Star tick. Once infected, a person bitten will have an allergy to red meat. So, when someone infected eats their favorite burger, they'll suffer an anaphylactic shock instead of the usual bliss a burger brings. There is currently no cure to the disease.

The plan by State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Woodhull) would increase education around the disease and require medical reporters to report any cases of the disease in Illinois. Swanson's said his mother has suffered from the red meat allergy for the past several years.

"She can't go into a McDonalds or a restaurant where they actually fry burgers on an open grill because that aroma will cause the shock that she goes through," Swanson said.

The disease under the proposal would receive the same reports that other tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease currently receive. It passed out of the public health committee unanimously where it now heads to the house floor for further debate.

Here are some ways to reduce tick bites according to the Illinois Department of Human Health:

Wear protective clothing.
Apply insect repellent containing 10 percent to 30 percent DEET primarily to clothes.
Walk in the center of trails.
Check yourself and family members after hiking

If a tick saw you as a sweet treat and is now firmly attached to your body, use tweezers (not hands) to grasp onto the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull straight out (don't twist or squeeze the tick). More information can be found on the IDPH website.