Alpha-Gal’s Big Surge: More Ticks or More Talk?
Posted by Mosquito Squad
June 17, 2025
Alpha-gal syndrome has been a quiet affliction in recent years. Is the uptick in cases a result of more awareness or just more ticks?
Perhaps you still haven’t heard – and you would not be alone! Alpha-gal syndrome is a delayed-onset allergy to red meat and other mammal-based products. The fact that it has been little-known is much given to the fact that the response is delayed. Cases have likely very often been passed off as botulism, stomach flu, or other common maladies. And if those afflicted do not eat red meat, pork, or red meat byproducts, it can be much harder to pinpoint. Our region of the United States is currently experiencing what is considered an explosion of alpha-gal cases. What is sparking the uptick – pun intended!
Lone Star Ticks , They Are a Changin’ – Numbers and Expansion
It’s super easy to explain that common triggers for increased cases of tick-borne illnesses are expanding tick territories, exploding tick populations, and thereby an increase in the number of tick bites . These are the typical types of assertions at the beginning of such data increases. And while all these things can be – and are – true, there is one thing we might not have considered.
Tick Talk – Word is Traveling About Alpha-Gal
At Mosquito Squad of Nashville, we know that the general knowledge about tick-borne illnesses, like alpha-gal, takes time to make the rounds. That’s one of the reasons we write informational blogs about these things. Awareness is absolutely key to knowing the signs and symptoms of a tick-borne affliction and being able to identify them accordingly. Blogs, like the one you’re reading now, aim to not only inform the general public about these things, but also care practitioners. The more we know and the more people who know, the better. If you, a family member, or a patient are suffering from some unknown, recurring illness after nearly every meal, this allergy from a lone star tick bite could be the culprit.
Why Is Awareness So Important for Healthcare Providers?
Lyme disease is the biggest example of mis-diagnosed and undiagnosed vector-borne illness probably of all time. To this day, even with most of us at least having heard of the illness, Lyme disease cases are purported to be vastly underreported. According to the CDC, there were 89,000 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2023. However, they believe the actual number of cases could be closer to 500,000 – more than a five times the number!
This is partly due to places like Florida, where Lyme disease has never been prominent, now believed to be highly underrepresented. Doctors in locales that historically have few or no cases of Lyme disease, often do not even consider testing for it. This is bad for a couple of reasons. If Lyme disease is confirmed early, it is not only treatable – it’s curable with a round of antibiotics. If not diagnosed, Lyme disease can become a much bigger illness with lifelong consequences that mimic other diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and even dementia. It could take years or decades to reach a diagnosis, if one is ever to be reached.
In the Nashville area, we hope that you will be on the lookout for ticks , as well as symptoms of a potential tick-borne infection. It’s worth it to mention that you have been hiking, camping, or spending a lot of time outdoors prior to getting sick, where you could have encountered a tick without knowing. Tick bites don’t hurt, and ticks are small, so this is perhaps more possible than you realize.
Choose Mosquito Squad for tick control in Davidson County TN!
Mosquito Squad treats mosquitoes , ticks , fleas , and many more outdoor pests throughout Davidson County! Contact us today at (615) 492-3662 or fill out our online form for your complimentary tick control assessment and treatment quote.
