VOA慢速英语2018--研究表明蜱虫引起的过敏数量呈上升趋势

Study Suggests Tick-Caused Meat Allergies¹ Rising

A new study has found that cases of meat allergies caused by an insect bite appear to be increasing in the United States.

The study reported that a large number of cases in which people had strong allergic² reactions were linked to a specific meat allergy³. The allergy – which is caused by tick bites - is linked to alpha-gal, a complex sugar found in red meat. Alpha-gal is not found in humans, but is common in red meats like pork and beef.

The study was based on patients treated at a single health center in Memphis, Tennessee. Results were reported in the scientific journal the Annals of Allergy, Asthma⁴ and Immunology.

Researchers studied patients who suffered from an intense allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is the most severe kind of allergic reaction. People suffering from anaphylaxis can experience a series of reactions, some of which can be life-threatening. The condition can result from allergies caused by food, drugs, insect bites or other things.

Over a 10-year period, the researchers evaluated 218 cases of anaphylaxis in patients from age 9 to 78 years old. Before the new study, doctors could not identify the cause of anaphylaxis in about 60 percent of patients. They noticed, however, a big drop after examining the new results.

The researchers identified 85 cases, or 39 percent, of anaphylaxis as having a specific cause. Of these, 28 cases, or 33 percent, were found to be linked to alpha-gal. This was a higher percentage than any other cause.

Researchers identified another 57 cases, or 26 percent, of anaphylaxis, but they were less sure about the probable cause.

Overall, the meat allergy was the most commonly identified cause of anaphylaxis in a total of 142 cases.

There are no exact figures for how many Americans developed tick-related meat allergies, which have also been discovered in other countries. But results from several U.S. studies show that up to 5,000 people developed the alpha-gal red meat allergy.

Jay Lieberman is a doctor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center who helped lead the study. He told Reuters that even though the new findings are important, he does not want the news to cause fear or “hysteria” among the public.

“The vast majority of people with a history of tick bites are not going to develop this allergy to meat and will continue to eat meat with no problem,” Lieberman said. He added that even among those found to carry the alpha-gal molecule⁵, only a small number will actually show symptoms.

But Lieberman’s team does hope the new study will inform doctors and patients that the meat allergy could be the cause of unexplained anaphylaxis. Many would not make this connection because the tick-related allergy is a fairly recent discovery.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

allergy – n. a medical condition that causes someone to become sick after eating, touching⁶, or breathing something that is harmless to most people

tick – n. a small insect that sucks the blood of animals

hysteria – n. extreme fear, excitement or anger which cannot be controlled

vast – adj. extremely large

symptom – n. a change that shows that a disease is present

1 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 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。

4 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

5 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

6 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。