Www.alphagalinformation.org

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) (source www.alphagalinformation.org)

also known as mammalian meat allergy, is an allergy involving an IgE antibody response to galactose-α-1,3-galactose (1). This sugar, commonly known as alpha-gal, is found in all mammals except for Old World monkeys, apes, and humans (99), as well as some other organisms. The onset of AGS is associated with tick bites (3).

Alpha-gal syndrome was first described in 2009 (1). It is poorly understood within the medical community because of its recent discovery and its varied and atypical presentation. Reactions to alpha-gal are often severe and sometimes fatal. They can be immediate, as with hypersensitivity reactions to injected drugs, or delayed by 2 to 10 hours or more, as is typical after consumption of mammalian meat (118). Delayed-onset reactions often occur in the middle of the night (1).

Alpha-gal allergic reactions can occur after exposure to:

• Mammalian meats, organs, and blood (57)
• Dairy products, gelatin, and other foods derived from mammals (57)
• Foods that contain mammalian byproducts (57)
• Drugs, medical products, personal care, household and other products with mammalian ingredients (57)
• Products containing carrageenan, which isn’t from a mammal, but which contains the alpha-gal epitope (54,57)
• Flounder eggs (26)