With a scary-sounding nickname like “reverse zombie tick,” the tick that can cause some people to develop itchy hives, breathing problems, unconsciousness, or even shock leading to death, is gaining buzz. But the reverse zombie tick, also called the Lone Star tick, is real and is spreading and causing meat allergies in some folks.
According to Wired , the sugar within red meat caused some folks to react after being bitten by the reverse zombie tick. Unexpectedly, a single bite from a Lone Star tick could turn a red meat-loving person into a forced vegan. And perhaps reverse zombie tick is a better name, because the Lone Star tick name comes from the white mark on the back of the tick, as seen above, which is shaped like Texas. The reverse zombie tick didn’t get its name as a Lone Star tick because it hails only from Texas.
Instead, the reverse zombie tick has spread from regions across the country, from the southeastern portion to places like Duluth, Minnesota, and Hanover, New Hampshire, as well as Long Island. The reverse zombie tick bite doesn’t just mean staying away from red meat for some victims, but eating really cleanly to avoid cross contamination from places that might cook or store red meat and seafood together.
Tick that triggers red meat allergy spreading across U.S. https://t.co/7ZAN5RcVF1
— CBS Sacramento CBS13 (@CBSSacramento) June 21, 2017
As seen in the top photo from July 31, 2014, an oversize rendition of a Lone Star tick is shown on a monitor at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Therefore, carnivores who couldn’t imagine a life without red meat might do well to try and avoid those so-called reverse zombie ticks.
The Lone Star tick is being called a special tick in the way that it can render such problems in certain people who are bitten and how some of them react to meat after being bitten. Scientists are studying some people who have been bitten and develop meat allergies to determine if it is something special about their makeup that makes them more vulnerable to develop such allergies, including a sensitivity to alpha-gal.
OH, LOVELY: THE TICK THAT GIVES PEOPLE MEAT ALLERGIES IS SPREADING https://t.co/0NUuAmpN4L #vegan #vegetarian #glutenfree #GoVegan #food # pic.twitter.com/emee42dM1A
— My XR World (@MyXRWorld) June 21, 2017
[Featured Image by Allen G. Breed/AP Images]
