Tick bites snag Congress' attention as red meat allergies rise

WASHINGTON — Rep. Morgan Griffith would love to eat an all-beef hot dog.

But the eight-term Virginia Republican from one of the biggest cattle-producing districts in Congress doesn’t eat red meat — against his will.

Griffith is one of the at least 450,000 Americans who have been diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome, a disease caused by a tick bite that can trigger a life-threatening red meat allergy. He’s using his position as the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee chairman to spread awareness and advance legislation to further research on that and other tick-borne diseases.

“I can get a good turkey dog, don’t get me wrong. But it’s just not the same,” Griffith said. Alpha-gal syndrome is the fastest growing tick-borne disease in the United States, as tick populations rise. In states with high concentrations of the pest, roughly a quarter of residents have antibodies that indicate they’ve been bitten.

The disease, caused by a bite from a variety known as the lone star tick, can trigger a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat and other products made from mammals.

And it recently caught the attention of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement. Under Kennedy, HHS has increased its commitment to eliminating tick-borne diseases and held multiple internal meetings on alpha-gal syndrome. Kennedy has also traveled to hot spots for the disease, like Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, to speak with scientists and advocates.

This increased focus comes as Congress decides how much to fund tick research for fiscal 2027. Lawmakers are also working on reauthorizing bipartisan legislation to enhance monitoring of and research of tick-borne diseases, and some are hoping to advance a bill to classify alpha-gal as a major allergen. A tick research bill, known as the Kay Hagan Tick Act, is named after the North Carolina senator who died of the tick-borne Powassan virus in 2019. The House passed its version bill Monday, but the Senate has yet to move to committee consideration.

Alpha-gal gets its name from the alpha-galactose molecule found in some tick saliva. When a tick bite transfers the molecule into a person’s blood, the human immune system views it as a threat, triggering an allergic reaction to red meat, dairy and other mammalian-derived products, like medications, that contain it.

As many as 75% of people with alpha-gal experience anaphylactic reactions, a higher percentage than any other food allergy, according to Sharon Forsyth, co-founder and executive director of the Alpha-gal Alliance.

For Griffith, the reaction is more mild. But eating red meat or animal products still causes him significant discomfort and requires an added layer of vigilance when on the road or campaigning. Since he can’t safely eat at most fast food stops, the congressman’s staffers have their work cut out for them.

“Oh, they have to know. They have to know where the Long John Silvers is for sure,” Griffith said.

A disease on the rise

Alpha-gal syndrome wasn’t common when Griffith was first diagnosed in 2010, and sometimes he would find himself in the uncomfortable situation of having to turn down a steak dinner while visiting a ranch in his district, or a burger at a church cook out.

Back then, he’d have to explain himself. But now alpha-gal is so common in the southwestern corner of Virginia that cattle ranchers always serve chicken in addition to steaks at farm bureau events.

“People in the district are now pretty aware of it. They may go, ‘Oh my gosh, I heard about that.’ And they almost always know somebody” who has it, Griffith said.

Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University have found a 100-fold increase in positive test results for alpha-gal antibodies between 2013 and 2024. That rise is largely caused by the expanding lone star tick population, thanks to warmer winters and rising deer populations. These ticks, and alpha-gal, are most common in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Roughly 24% of Americans in the five states most impacted by tick-borne diseases tested positive for alpha-gal antibodies, according to the CDC. It’s possible for people to have alpha-gal antibodies without having symptoms, so a person needs to have both antibodies and symptoms to be diagnosed.

Forsyth, of the Alpha-gal Alliance, has had the condition since 2019. In the last seven years she’s seen the the organization’s support groups balloon — something she contributes to the exploding tick population and more awareness of the disease among physicians.

“Our largest support group has 82,000 people in it,” she said. “You will not find any other support group for any other food allergy that even compares.”

Legislative efforts

Congress has turned its focus to limiting the spread of tick-borne diseases in recent years as the tick population has boomed. Capitol Hill has historically focused on more common tick diseases, like Lyme disease, which nearly half a million Americans are diagnosed and treated for yearly. But this year an alpha-gal-focused bill is gaining traction.

Lawmakers are considering legislation to classify alpha-gal as a major food allergen for labeling purposes. The bipartisan bill, is led by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and Don Davis, D-N.C., and has supporters in both chambers. Sen Mark Warner, D-Va., plans to introduce a Senate counterpart.

“We have a lot of it in Virginia. I have a lot of friends who’ve gotten it,” Warner said last week in a hallway interview.

Under current law, food labels must generally identify each major allergen found in labeled food products. The bill would require food producers to identify alpha-gal molecules in food products — most commonly red meat and other products made from animals — to prevent allergic reactions among those who react to it.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in both chambers are working to reauthorize funding for tick-borne disease research at the CDC and across HHS via the Kay Hagan Tick Act. It became law as part of a 2020 spending bill, but funding ran out last year. The bill would bolster CDC efforts to improve research, prevention, diagnostics and treatment of tick-borne diseases.

It specifies $27 million per year in continued funding for tick disease and Lyme disease research at the CDC. But that’s not the only avenue for funding such research.

The fiscal 2027 House Appropriations Committee’s Labor-HHS-Education funding bill proposes funding boosts for alpha-gal and other tick-borne diseases, with a $1 million increase for the CDC’s Vector-Borne Diseases division and a $10 million increase for the National Institutes of Health’s Lyme and tick disease research.

The appropriation bill’s report language recognizes alpha-gal as an emerging condition and calls it a “growing clinical and public health concern” because of the proliferation of lone star ticks. The report directs the NIH to increase efforts to understand the disease and work on new protocols, therapies and to manage the condition.

A friend in RFK

Kennedy has taken a special interest, recently telling reporters he takes the “explosion of alpha-gal … very seriously,” even though he’s exaggerated the problem.

“One of the epicenters is Martha’s Vineyard, where 50% of the adult population is now affected,” Kennedy said at a June 1 event at HHS. The actual number of people on Martha’s Vineyard is likely much less than 50%, researchers say, but they concede there is a high rate of the tick-borne disease there.

“Any time national leaders draw attention to Lyme and tick-borne diseases, it helps raise awareness of an issue that has often been overlooked,” Meghan Bradshaw, executive director for the Center for Lyme Action, said of Kennedy’s interest.

HHS is working on a pilot program to fund research into the syndrome. The agency is planning to launch a collaboration between the NIH and private companies to accelerate therapies to prevent tick bites from evolving into alpha-gal.

Alvaro Toledo, a researcher at Rutgers University, welcomed the focus, arguing it reiterates the need for research into all tick-borne diseases.

“We need an overall approach,” Toledo said, “though it’s helpful that at least they are doing something about alpha-gal.”