Another Tick to Avoid - Alpha-gal Syndrome

Lone Star tick - CDC

Going for a hike, a walk in the woods, or just into your backyard this week? Be aware of yet another tick that might ruin your wandering. 

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction triggered by a tick bite that makes people allergic to red meat and other mammalian products. Unlike most food allergies that manifest immediately, AGS is uniquely dangerous because its symptoms typically show up 3 to 8 hours after eating.

The Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) is the primary culprit in the United States. Ticks carry a sugar molecule called alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) in their saliva. When the tick bites a human, it transfers this sugar into the bloodstream. The immune system flags it as a foreign threat and creates specific IgE antibodies to fight it. Later, when the person consumes mammalian products containing alpha-gal, the body triggers an allergic attack.

Yes, the Lone Star tick exists in New Jersey, and its population is actively expanding across the state. [It was historically confined to the southern regions and coastal plains of New Jersey—such as Monmouth, Ocean, and Cape May counties—but warmer winters and an increasing deer population have pushed their range much further north. They are now regularly detected in northern and central counties, including Hunterdon, Somerset, Bergen, and Passaic.

The presence of this tick in New Jersey is getting serious public health focus. In late 2025, researchers from the University of Virginia documented that a 47-year-old New Jersey man became the first recorded fatality in the United States from alpha-gal syndrome after suffering severe anaphylaxis from eating red meat following a camping trip. 

In the central and southern parts of the state, lone star ticks have become so prevalent that they actually outnumber local blacklegged (deer) ticks. Unlike regular ticks that wait passively for a host to pass by, lone star ticks actively pursue hosts by sensing vibrations and carbon dioxide. 

They are highly active in New Jersey from March through October, thriving in forests, tall grass, brush piles, and suburban backyards.

The New Jersey Department of Health and municipal health departments actively issue warnings urging residents to take heavy precautions in wooded or high-grass areas. To protect yourself, use EPA-registered repellents, wear long clothing pre-treated with permethrin, and perform thorough tick checks immediately after coming indoors.

Symptoms range from mild discomfort to medical emergencies. They include: [1] Skin Reactions: Hives, severe itching, swelling, or flushing. Digestive Issues: Severe stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and heartburn. Respiratory Issues: Coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Anaphylaxis: A severe drop in blood pressure and closed airways requiring emergency medical care. 

Those diagnosed with AGS must strictly avoid food derived from mammals: Beef, pork, lamb, venison, rabbit, and goat. Dairy products (milk, cheese, butter), gelatin, lard, and sometimes medications or capsules made with mammalian ingredients. 

Safe Alternatives: Poultry (chicken, turkey), fish, and shellfish do not contain alpha-gal and are completely safe to eat. 

Doctors diagnose AGS by taking a detailed history of your symptoms and performing a blood test to check for alpha-gal-specific IgE antibodies. There is no cure. Treatment centers entirely on lifestyle management, avoiding trigger foods, and carrying an epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen) for accidental exposures. 

The allergy can sometimes decline or disappear over several years, provided you do not get bitten by any more ticks. 

AGS should be managed under the care of an allergist or other healthcare provider. 

The Longhorn Tick in New Jersey

Female nymph and adult

In late 2017, animal health experts in New Jersey identified a Haemaphysalis longicornis tick, commonly known as the “longhorned tick” or “bush tick,” on a sheep in Hunterdon County. Recently, the tick has also been found in Union and Middlesex Counties. 

As of April 13, 2023, longhorned ticks have been found in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, nNorth Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

The longhorned tick is not native to the United States. However, it is a serious threat to livestock in Australia, New Zealand and countries of eastern Asia.

Compared with well-known native ticks (such as the blacklegged tick, lone star tick and American dog tick), the Asian longhorned tick appears to be less attracted to human skin 

The longhorned tick is not native to the United States. However, it is a serious threat to livestock in Australia, New Zealand and countries of eastern Asia.

Finding the longhorned tick in New Jersey in 2017 was noteworthy because it was the first time this tick was found in the United States. Animal health authorities are still investigating exactly how the longhorned tick entered the U.S. Some possible ways it may have entered include entering on domestic pets (e.g. dogs), horses, livestock or humans. 

The reason this tick is a concern is because it may pose a risk to New Jersey livestock. It is a serious pest that can attach itself to various warm-blooded animals to feed. If too many ticks attach to one animal, the loss of blood can kill the animal. Ticks can also spread a variety of diseases. The property where the tick was found and animals living there were treated to eliminate the tick. The state will continue to monitor wildlife, livestock and horses in the local area for these ticks.

If you find a suspected longhorn tick on you, your pets, horses, livestock or hunter-harvested deer, please collect the tick for animal health officials to identify. Place the tick in a snack or sandwich size Ziploc baggie along with a small stamp size piece of moistened tissue paper and seal it. Do NOT use tape to secure the tick.

Call the New Jersey Tick Line at: 1-833-NEW-TICK (833-639-8425)

Sources
https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/ah/pdf/TickInfosheet.pdf   
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/longhorned-tick/index.html

Another Dangerous Tick-Borne Disease Spreads To NJ

It may seem early to be thinking about ticks biting in New Jersey, but an early warning is what we have for a new tick-borne disease that has appeared in our state. In this case, people are what is threatened and endangered. Warming weather and more people getting outdoors increases the possibility of tick bites.

The same tick that carries Lyme disease has caused Powassan, otherwise known as POW. It is a virus infection that can impact the nervous system, memory, thinking and balance.

The disease has been recognized in the United States, Canada and Russia. In the United States, cases of POW virus disease have been reported primarily from northeastern states and the Great Lakes region, according to the CDC. These cases occur primarily in the late spring, early summer and mid-fall when ticks are most active.

There is not widespread awareness about the disease, but no need for panic currently. Cases of the Powassan virus remain rare in New Jersey, with just three cases reported since 2013. Those three cases were in Warren and Sussex counties, according to the N.J. Department of Health. The last reported case took place in 2015.

Two types of ticks carry he disease: the woodchuck tick (Ixodes cookei) and the black-legged or deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). The deer tick is found across New Jersey and it is likely that this species is spreading POW in the region.

Some people bitten by a tick do not show symptoms at all. However, symptoms may show up one week to one month after being bitten by an infected tick. The infected tick needs to be attached to a person for a certain amount of time before it may transmit POW virus. The timeframe needed for POW virus is not known, but it is thought to be less than the time needed for other tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease (24-48 hours) and anaplasmosis (12-24 hours).

What is frightening is that there is no treatment for POW, which differentiates it from Lyme disease. People with severe POW virus illnesses often need to be hospitalized to receive respiratory support, intravenous fluids, or medications to reduce swelling in the brain. About 10-15% of people that get POW have life-long neurological conditions afterward.

The NJ Department of Health's Communicable Disease Service says that approximately 75 cases of POW virus disease were reported in the United States over the past 10 years. Most cases have occurred in the Northeast United States and Great Lakes regions. Signs and symptoms of infection can include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, seizures, and memory loss. Long-term neurologic problems may occur.

Preventative measures are the same as other tick-related diseases:

• Avoid areas with high grass and leaf litter and walk in the center of trails when hiking.
• Use repellent that contains 20 percent or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours.
• Use products that contain permethrin to treat clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents or look for clothing pre-treated with permethrin.
• Treat dogs for ticks. Dogs are very susceptible to tick bites and to some tickborne diseases. They may also bring ticks into your home. Tick collars, sprays, shampoos, or monthly “top spot” medications help protect against ticks.
• Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and more easily find crawling ticks before they bite you.
• Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body upon returning from tick-infested areas. Parents should help children check thoroughly for ticks. Remove any ticks right away.
• Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing after you come indoors. If the clothes are damp, additional time may be needed.

MORE INFORAMTION

• Printable (pdf) information sheet from NJ Dept. of Health
• https://www.cdc.gov/powassan/ 
• http://www.raredr.com/news/powassan-makes-way-to-nj-and-pa 
• http://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/powassan.shtml

Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease Season

We probably wish they were endangered, but as people in the Northeast, Midwest and mid-Atlantic know, deer ticks that carry Lyme and other diseases are growing their populations. Humans are the ones in danger.

Right now is the worst season (May & June). The adolescent “nymphal” ticks are out in force and looking for you.

They are about the size of a poppy seed but you won't spot them in the leaf litter and shady leaf borders where they are now.

Last summer, the Center for Disease Control adjusted upward its estimate of Lyme disease prevalence by a factor of 10, to about 300,000 American cases a year.

In most cases, the disease can be treated with antibiotics IF it is diagnosed and treated promptly. But 10 to 20 percent of cases are not discovered early or do not respond to to antibiotics.

The recommended prevention includes:

• Spray your shoes with repellent containing Permethrin because nymphal-stage deer ticks are in leaf litter, and so as your shoes move through the leaf litter, that’s where those ticks take hold.
• Spray your pant treating the inside as well as the outside.
• Use your dryer as soon as you come inside. 10 minutes on high heat should desiccate any ticks you might carry in.
• Make sure that your dog has effective quick kill product on it like Advantix II or Seresto collars 
• You don't have to out in the woods to encounter ticks. Suburban backyards are also breeding places. Take precautions and if you spray, killing black-legged ticks requires a synthetic pyrethroid. Greener alternatives are appearing but are not proven as effective yet.

Research has shown that days of low humidity will start to kill of populations.