KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Republican state member put forward a bill that would help doctors better treat people with alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that is often caused by a tick bite and can make a person’s diet very different.
People with this disease can have reactions when they eat beef, pork, or lamb. This is why it is also called a “allergy to red meat.” Line star ticks, which are common in rural East Tennessee, are the ones that spread it most often.
The bill, HB 0383, was put forward by Representative Ed Butler (R-Rickman). It would make the syndrome one of the diseases and situations that the Tennessee Department of Health needs to handle.
“A high percentage of people in Tennessee who have alpha-gal syndrome live in rural places, making that state a “hot spot.” “People who are allergic to alpha-gal make up 9% of those who have an allergic reaction,” he told the House Health Subcommittee.
He talked about a clinic in Tennessee that found that alpha-gal reactions were the main reason why people got anaphylaxis there. He also said that about 10% of the people in Tennessee were probably sensitive to alpha-gal and that up to 1% of those people would develop alpha-gal syndrome. During a committee meeting, he said that’s up to 70,000 people.
“The CDC identified a critical need for state and local health authorities to initiative surveillance, and encourages us to do so,” he added.
The other person who spoke at the subcommittee meeting was from Morgan County. She said she had alpha-gal syndrome. She said it had led to several trips to the emergency room since she got the condition a year ago. She said that things like medicine and cleaning tools could also make her sick and send her to the hospital.
“I didn’t realize how much I had to look at my soaps, and my laundry, and everything I did,” she shared. “I know personally five people in my little community of Morgan County that has alpha-gal, and I know there’s a lot more out there.”
Since there is no known cure for alpha-gal syndrome, politicians said at the meeting of the House House Subcommittee that the best way to deal with it is to try to stop people from getting it.
The bill was approved by the panel without a single negative vote. It will now be talked about in the House Health Committee.
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