美国国家公共电台 NPR Red Meat Allergies Caused By Tick Bites Are On The Rise

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Here's a surprising side effect of being bitten by a tick - tick bites can cause many diseases. And if you're bitten by a lone¹ star tick, you could develop a food allergy². This problem is spreading as the tick's range expands. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE³: One day last summer, Laura Stirling took her dog Gunner for a walk on a trail near her house. She lives in Severna Park, Md. Later that evening, she realized she'd bitten by a tick.

LAURA STIRLING: I found it 3 or 4 inches to the left of my hip⁴ bone and didn't think anything of it. I just took it off and threw it away.

AUBREY: But about three weeks later, she ate an Italian-style pork sausage for dinner and had a horrible reaction.

STIRLING: I would say it was probably six hours after I ate it. It was in the middle of the night. And I woke up covered in hives.

AUBREY: She was itching⁵ and scratching. She felt lightheaded. She also noticed stomach aches. So she went to see an allergist.

STIRLING: He asked me, did you change your detergent⁶? Did you change anything in your diet? And I said no. And he said, in the last month, were you bitten by a tick? And I said yes.

AUBREY: After a blood test, the allergist told her she was allergic⁷ to red meat and maybe dairy, too.

STIRLING: I thought it was completely crazy because I've eaten dairy and I've eaten red meat all my life.

AUBREY: Her story is pretty typical of people who develop a red meat allergy after a tick bite, says allergist Scott Commins. He's an associate professor at UNC Chapel⁸ Hill. And he was among the first to identify the allergy in patients with tick bites about 10 years ago. He says back then, there were just a few dozen known cases. But now...

SCOTT COMMINS: We're confident that the number is over 5,000 at least in the U.S. alone.

AUBREY: There are also cases in Sweden, Germany and Australia likely linked to other species of ticks. Now, Commins says in the U.S., cases have moved beyond the southeast to New York, Maine and Minnesota.

COMMINS: Absolutely we're going to find that this continues to expand. The reach of the tick is expanding. And equally, I think, we have a blood test, we're raising awareness⁹, and the word is getting out.

AUBREY: There's still a lot to learn about this allergy. It's known as an alpha-gal allergy. Alpha-gal's a sugar that animals make, including cows and pigs, but we don't.

COMMINS: As humans, we don't make this alpha-gal sugar. We all make an immune response to it.

AUBREY: So how does a tick bite cause the allergy? Well, it's possible that ticks inject alpha-gal into people's bodies when they bite. The ticks likely get it from feeding off wild animals such as mice or squirrels. Commins says it's also possible that ticks activate¹⁰ the response in another way.

COMMINS: Whatever the tick is doing, it seems that it's a very potent¹¹ awakener for our immune system to produce antibodies. And in this case, it is antibodies to a very particular sugar in red meat.

AUBREY: As for Laura Stirling, she now avoids all dairy and all red meat.

STIRLING: Once I was told just stop eating it, I was fine. I felt great.

AUBREY: Allergists usually give their alpha-gal patients epi pens because reactions can be dangerous. But the good news is that people can outgrow¹² the allergy. This is most likely to happen if they avoid further tick bites. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

2 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

5 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 detergent   

n.洗涤剂；adj.有洗净力的

参考例句：

• He recommended a new detergent to me.他向我推荐一种新的洗涤剂。
• This detergent can remove stubborn stains.这种去污剂能去除难洗的污渍。

7 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

8 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

10 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

11 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

12 outgrow   

vt.长大得使…不再适用；成长得不再要

参考例句：

• The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
• Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。