An Oklahoma bill that will add alpha-gal syndrome to the state’s list of tracked tick-borne illnesses is advancing through the legislative process.
Senate Bill 1644 will require health care providers to report cases of alpha-gal syndrome, also called “red meat disease,” to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, in response to growing public health concern.
Most alpha-gal syndrome cases are obtained by bites from Lone Star ticks — prevalent across the Midwest, South and Northeast U.S. A majority of Oklahoma’s counties meet the criteria for an established population of the species.
Alpha-gal is a molecule produced in the bodies of mammals, except humans. According to the CDC, people with alpha-gal syndrome can develop a potentially life-threatening allergy to certain animal products with this molecule.
The CDC has identified alpha-gal syndrome as both a clinical and public health concern for the U.S., with exact case numbers limited due to no national surveillance.
Alpha-Gal Alliance Action Fund sponsored the bill to expand surveillance of alpha-gal syndrome in Oklahoma, a state the organization believes needs more surveillance.
Sharon Forsyth, executive director of AGA, said alpha-gal is common due to Oklahoma’s abundance of Lone Star ticks.
“Oklahoma is one of the most impacted states in the union, and alpha-gal is nationally the 10th most common allergy, but in Oklahoma, it's way up the list,” Forsyth said. “In some parts of Oklahoma, probably 5% of the population has alpha-gal syndrome.”
Forsyth was diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome in 2019.
“When I was first diagnosed, it was a newly discovered allergy, they thought it was rare. There was not very much literature on it,” Forsyth said. “If you went to any of the usual trusted sites, like Mayo (Clinic), or Cleveland Clinic or the CDC, you wouldn't find information on alpha-gal.”
Forsyth’s diagnosis inspired her to make a public hub of information on alpha-gal to spread awareness and has been working towards getting the syndrome on federal tracking lists.
According to Forsyth, the bill is necessary in helping understand the scope of the syndrome.
“You can’t address a problem when you don’t know the extent of it, you don’t know how quickly it’s growing, you don’t know where it occurs,” Forsyth said. “There’s all kinds of things we need to do to address the alpha-gal syndrome epidemic.”
Since exact case numbers are unknown in Oklahoma, funding for researching and addressing the syndrome is not prioritized.
“We know that Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas are probably the three most impacted states,” Forsyth said. “But until you have the data to show that, the federal government doesn’t know which states to prioritize.”
Forsyth said it is important for Oklahomans to take precautions against ticks when going outside — specifically with the insecticide permethrin.
“The most valuable thing you can do is wear permethrin-treated clothing and just spray your shoes with permethrin,” Forsyth said. “Just spraying your shoes alone greatly reduces your chance of tick bites.”
Lone Star ticks, the primary carrier for alpha-gal, are different from the common black leg tick as they actively seek out hosts, according to Forsyth.
“A Lone Star tick will hunt you and they're really fast. They run like a spider, so they can cross like 100 feet in five minutes,” Forsyth said. “They will detect your presence through your carbon dioxide, and they'll come find you, and then they will run up you at lightning speed. So you do need to take measures.”
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Andrew Higgins and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
