Tick bites triggering potentially deadly allergic reactions to meat are 'becoming more common'
- 'Tick-induced mammalian meat allergy' can take up to 10 hours to kick in
- Some people become sensitive to red meat and develop anaphylaxis
- The allergy can be deadly and takes over the entire body in just minutes
- Cases are booming in parts of Australia, mainly around Sydney's beaches
Sunday lunches would be incomplete without a generous helping of beef, pork or lamb.
But for some this is impossible after developing a meat allergy from a simple tick-bite.
Now experts warn the problem - which can be deadly - is becoming more and more common in areas infested by the insects.
Those who suffer from a 'tick-induced mammalian meat allergy' won't notice the allergy at first due to its delayed reaction.
Cases of 'tick-induced mammalian meat allergy' are booming in parts of Australia, specifically around Sydney. But some have also been reported in Europe, Asia and Africa, experts warn
However, after up to 10 hours after consuming red meat - some immune systems become sensitive to proteins in the parasite's saliva and develop anaphylaxis.
It is the most extreme and severe form of allergic reaction and takes over the entire body within minutes.
In some cases tick bites can cause an additional allergy to dairy and gelatine products, The Guardian Australia reports.
Cases are booming in parts of Australia and the US - but some have also been reported in Europe, Asia and Africa.
But tick bite-induced anaphylaxis is rare in countries other than Australia, particularly in Sydney.
Ticks are common around the city's northern beaches, and around two patients are diagnosed with the allergy each week.
Up to 10 hours after consuming red meat - some immune systems become sensitive to proteins in the parasite's saliva and develop anaphylaxis
It is spread by the same species of tick that carry Lyme Disease, experts say.
The Lone Star tick is widespread throughout the US, but meat allergies have been reported in the south-eastern states.
The link between tick bites and meat allergies was first described in 2007 by Sheryl Van Nunen, a clinical immunology specialist, in Sydney.
She warns the majority of meat allergies will have derived from tick bites - which could have bitten someone up to six months before showing symptoms.
However, sufferers may not react each time they eat red meat and some products won't cause symptoms.
But more research is needed to work out why some people develop the allergy after being bitten by a tick and why other's don't, she says.
This comes after a mother-of-two revealed how she almost died from eating a meat pie after developing the allergy in August.
Brigitte Bond, from Sydney's Northern Beaches, noticed she was having an allergic reaction to meat products - a condition she had never experienced in her life.
'I woke about 2am with a rash all over me, my throat was tight and constricted and I was having trouble breathing,' she previously told Manly Daily.
'I managed to stumble into the bathroom and rip open a box of antihistamine and throw some tablets into my mouth.'
Ms Bond now carries an adrenaline injection in case she unknowingly eats something with meat in it and suffers another reaction.
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