Alpha-gal syndrome is a red meat allergy caused by the bite of certain ticks. The allergy is known as Alpha-gal syndrome because it is linked to the sugar molecule galactose-α-1,3-galactose, or ‘alpha-gal.’ Alpha-gal is found in mammalian meat but not primate – human – meat, and some ticks carry it in their saliva. When they bite a human, for reasons still not understood, the alpha-gal triggers a life-long allergy to red meat.
