He Ate A Hamburger, And 4 Hours Later He Died: 1st Death Reported From Tick Found In NJ

An otherwise healthy 47-year-old New Jersey man died from what is commonly called a “meat allergy” spread by a certain type of tick, health officials said this week. This is the first confirmed death from the lone star tick-borne allergy. As a result, health officials are warning the public to be aware of the danger of tick bites.

The man died “abruptly” four hours after eating beef. His cause of death remained unknown until Thomas Platts-Mills, a doctor with the University of Virginia, investigated. Platts-Mills, a world-renowned allergist, discovered the death to be related to an allergy caused by a sensitivity to alpha-gal, a sugar found in mammalian meat.

How The Man Became Ill

The man, whose name and hometown were not released, went camping with his wife and kids during the summer of 2024. One night, they ate a late steak dinner at 10 p.m. At 2 a.m., he woke up with severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting.

While the man recovered by morning, he told his son he thought he was going to die.

Two weeks later, still unaware that he had contracted a meat allergy, the man ate a hamburger at a barbecue. He started feeling ill at 7 p.m. and his son found him collapsed in the bathroom about a half hour later.

An autopsy was inconclusive, with the cause reported as “sudden unexplained death.”

The man's wife was not satisfied with that and asked a doctor to review the autopsy. That doctor forwarded the autopsy to Platts-Mills, who obtained samples of the man’s blood that had been collected post-mortem and found that he had been sensitized to alpha-gal. Further, the blood indicated the man had had an extreme reaction, in line with what is seen in fatal anaphylaxis.

People who become sensitized to the sugar from lone star tick bites can have allergic symptoms like rash, nausea and vomiting after eating beef, pork or lamb. Researchers feared that anaphylaxis could be deadly in severe cases, but none have been confirmed until now.

The wife said that her husband had no tick bites in the past year, but had a dozen or so chigger bites around his ankles this summer. Platts-Mills said many times what appear to be chigger bites in the eastern United States are actually bites from lone star tick larvae.

Platts-Mills and his colleagues suspected that several factors may have contributed to the severity of the anaphylaxis: He had a beer with his burger, was exposed to ragweed pollen, and had exercised that afternoon. Platts-Mills noted that the man’s family reported that he ate red meat very sparingly.

Where The Lone Star Tick Is Found

While once confined to the Southwest, the lone star tick is now commonly found throughout the eastern United States and even as far north as Canada. The lone star tick is now found in many states, including New Jersey.

Some scientists say a warming climate more hospitable to lone star ticks may be one reason for their spread, while others suggest the ticks are reestablishing themselves in areas where they were once common before their forest habitat was cleared for development.

How To Stay Safe

Severe abdominal pain occurring three to five hours after eating beef, pork or lamb should be investigated as a possible episode of anaphylaxis, said Platts-Mills. Additionally, tick bites that itch for more than a week or larvae of ticks often called ‘chiggers’ can induce or increase sensitization to mammalian-derived meat. “On the other hand, most individuals who have mild to moderate episodes of hives can control symptoms with an appropriate diet," the doctor said.

In the wake of the man's death, Platts-Mills is urging physicians to be on the lookout for people who have developed the allergy or are at risk of exposure. He noted that the deer population is exploding in many states, and these animals are prime breeding grounds for the lone star tick that spreads the allergy.

Because symptoms of tick-borne illnesses can lag, the best thing to do is protect yourself against ticks when you’re in places they’re likely to be found — grassy, brushy and wooded areas, or even your backyard. Some tips from the CDC:

• Wear socks and boots, and tuck your pants into your boots. Cover your hair as well.
• Tick-specific insect repellents can help, too. Treat clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents with products containing 0.5 percent permethrin.
• Talk to your veterinarian about tick treatments for cats and dogs.
• Check yourself for ticks daily, especially under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and on the hairline and scalp.
• Shower soon after being outdoors.

If you do find a tick, remove it from your skin as soon as possible.