Hunters about to enter the woods for an early season bowhunt need to be particularly careful when it comes to tick bites. Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are dangerous enough, but another side effect of a bite could end someone’s deer hunting—or life—altogether.
QDMA’s Josh Gamblin and James Kelly addressed the issue in a piece entitled “Ticked Off: No More Venison.” An allergy caused by the bite from a lone star tick can cause reactions to the carbohydrates in mammalian meat, meaning hunters who get bit in the woods may become allergic to the very meat they are after.
The allergy doesn’t have a catchy or noteworthy name, but its effects can be devastating. The reaction is to Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, also referred to as alpha-gal, the carbohydrates found in mammalian meat. Alpha-gal does not typically cause allergic reactions, but the saliva of the lone star tick causes the human body to raise the level of antibodies as a result of being bitten.
Hives, swelling, itching, upset stomach/diarrhea, and anaphylaxis are all possible, usually occurring a few hours after the meat is ingested. The allergic reactions become stronger with each subsequent exposure to mammalian meat.
It’s doubly dangerous for deer hunters, who spend far more time in the woods than the average meat consumer and are therefore more likely to encounter ticks. Deer are also likely to carry ticks in the warmer early season, which may lead to lone star bites as well.
Some meat eaters only experience reactions to certain meats. Gamblin said products higher in fat seem to elicit the strongest response, one ray of hope from lean venison.
Fish and bird meat do not trigger a reaction.
The lone star tick range covers much of the Southeast, but the insect is on the move west and north.
Gamblin and his father are both allergic, and have had to make changes in their diet and lifestyle to cope with its effects. Though they still hunt, they now have to give the meat away from each successful trip afield.
Gamblin said the allergy has no treatment, but said some evidence points to a potential lowering of the antibody levels as long as the person is not rebitten by a tick. The only way to prevent the allergy is to not be bitten to begin with.
Cover image via Josh Gamblin, QDMA