alpha-gal

I'm guessing that PETA is taking a hard look at this tick.

From WJLA...

Researchers from the University of Virginia say they've linked a sudden onset of meat allergies to the bite of the tick. Experts say they've counted 1,000 cases so far, mostly located in central Virginia. 

Patrick Cloud is one of those cases. After he was bitten, Cloud knew immediately that it was not a typical tick bite. It was extra itchy, inflamed and huge. Three months later, it's still there.  What Cloud didn't know was the Lone Star Tick that bit him also made him allergic to meat, an allergy [alpha-gal] that nearly killed him. 

"I'm shocked that I have it and just relieved it's not seafood. I like seafood a lot better than meat," Cloud laughed.