Photograph by James Gathany/CDC
In 2012, Alicia Tucker was ready to be induced to deliver her third child when doctors performed a routine check of her cervix using a lubricant-coated wand. “I went into full-blown anaphylaxis,” recalls Tucker, a sales executive in McDonough. “I couldn’t breathe, my hands and feet swelled up, and I had a rash from the neck down.” The antihistamine Benadryl saved her life. A few weeks later, an allergist finally figured out the cause of the reaction—part of a mystery malady Tucker had been experiencing for 10 years, which included rashes, stomach aches, and diarrhea. She suffered from alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a type of allergy that is passed to humans via a single, tiny vector: the Lone Star tick.
The syndrome causes an allergy to a sugar called galactose-alpha-1, 3-galactose. That particular sugar is found in red meat such as beef, pork, and lamb, as well as in foods and products that come from mammals, including glycerin—the cause of Tucker’s allergic reaction in the delivery room. A red-meat allergy is often the first indication of the syndrome.
In a 2023 press release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that up to 450,000 Americans suffer from AGS, calling it “an important emerging public health problem.” Allergic reactions caused by the syndrome can vary from mild to severe. Many cases go undetected, and even symptomatic people often don’t know the cause; until the allergist diagnosed her, Tucker had no clue she had AGS, nor when she contracted it. “I’ve had tick bites my whole life,” she says, “and there’s no telling which one did it to me.”
AGS isn’t the only “gift” humans receive from the Lone Star tick. The bug, which is less than a quarter of an inch long and sports a distinctive white spot, also carries pathogens, including Ehrlichia and Heartland virus, and can cause southern tick-associated rash illness.
To find out where exactly the Lone Star tick lives, Emory University scientists mapped its habitat, the first study of its kind in Georgia. “We sampled 43 different state parks and wildlife management areas,” explains Stephanie Bellman, an MD/PhD student at Emory School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health, who was first author of the study. The area around metro Atlanta, they found, was directly in the bull’s-eye, along with the southern and middle parts of the state.
“Until now, we didn’t have a map that could accurately tell where the ticks are found,” says Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, a professor in Emory’s Department of Environmental Sciences and senior author of the study. In Georgia, the tick favors wooded areas with moist soil. Unfortunately, that includes many beloved hiking and camping spots around the state. In addition, as residential development expands into more rural areas, ticks are finding more opportunities to attach to hosts.
The Lone Star tick, Vazquez-Prokopec says, “is aggressive and waiting for you on the tips of branches or vegetation. It grabs onto your clothes.” It’s also so small that you may not feel it or notice you’ve been bitten.
Now that the Emory scientists have a map of the tick’s favorite spots, they can begin to study distribution of Heartland virus, which is still rare but can cause serious illness in older adults or those with underlying conditions. “Heartland is an emerging infectious disease that is not well understood,” says Vazquez-Prokopec. “We don’t even know which animal is its reservoir.” Ticks merely transmit such infectious diseases as Lyme and AGS, which require a host animal species which they can survive long-term. “It’s not mice or deer,” Vazquez-Prokopec continues. “So right now we have a virus infecting humans, with cases slowly increasing over time, and we have no clue yet how it is maintained. Our map is an essential first step.”
But enough of the tick talk! Spring is nigh, and Georgians are ready to get out and camp and hike. To prevent tick bites, follow expert recommendations: Use repellants such as DEET or apply permethrin to your clothing, socks, and shoes. Walk in the center of trails, and inspect your clothing, body, and pets for ticks as soon as you get back to your car, says Vazquez-Prokopec. Take a shower when you get home and inspect yourself again.
If you do find an attached tick, use a pair of clean, fine-tipped tweezers or a specially crafted “tick twister” to carefully remove the tick and safely dispose of it. Monitor for flu-like symptoms, a rash, hives, or joint pain.
As for Tucker, she’s symptom-free these days. “I’m disciplined, I read labels,” she says. “Alpha-gal syndrome is life changing.” She frequents a local Mexican restaurant, Los Aviña, where the staff knows how to prepare her favorite chicken fajitas. “They cook them in a separate skillet for me, away from beef,” says Tucker. “We call it the ‘Alicia special.’”
This article appears in our February 2025 issue.
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