Planning an Trip This Summer? A New CDC Study Says 1 in 4 Adults in These States May Already Be at Risk of a Tick-Borne Meat Allergy
Summer travel often means more time hiking, camping and spending long stretches outdoors in tick country across the U.S. A new CDC study now puts a sharper number on alpha-gal exposure in five states where lone star ticks are common.
CDC study finds roughly 1 in 4 adults in 5 states had alpha-gal antibodies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the new research on Thursday, based on blood samples from 3,000 adults in 10 states collected from November 2024 through April 2025. According to the study, about 24% of adults in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia had antibodies to alpha-gal.
Those antibodies show that a person was exposed to the alpha-gal molecule at some point, usually after a tick bite. The study does not say that 24% of adults in those five states have alpha-gal syndrome itself, which is the condition that can trigger allergic reactions to red meat and some meat byproducts such as gelatin.
Dr. Eleanor Saunders, the study’s lead author at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said the findings are not meant to encourage unnecessary testing or overdiagnosis. She said the presence of antibodies mainly suggests prior exposure and that more research is needed to understand how much that may raise a person’s future risk.
What the findings mean in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia
The clearest state-level finding is that the highest estimated exposure was concentrated in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. These are states where lone star ticks are already known to be prevalent, and the study found adults there were much more likely to show evidence of prior exposure than people in lower-risk states in the 10-state sample.
What is not yet known is how many people in each of those five states will go on to develop alpha-gal syndrome. The study did not release a full state-by-state case count for diagnosed illness, and antibodies alone do not confirm that someone has the lifelong meat allergy.
The CDC has previously estimated that about 450,000 people in the U.S. could have alpha-gal syndrome, but the true national prevalence remains unknown. Only a small number of state health departments require reporting, and the condition is not currently tracked through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
Why health officials are watching tick-driven alpha-gal more closely
Alpha-gal syndrome is linked most often to the lone star tick after the tick has fed on mammals such as cows, deer, goats and pigs. When that tick later bites a person, it can transmit the alpha-gal sugar molecule, which in some people leads to allergic reactions that often appear hours after eating red meat.
Symptoms listed by the CDC include hives, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, heartburn, coughing, shortness of breath, dizziness, swelling and, in severe cases, anaphylaxis. Once a person develops alpha-gal syndrome, it becomes a lifelong condition, which is one reason researchers are paying closer attention to exposure levels.
Researchers also said the risk area may continue to widen beyond the East and Midwest. Dr. Scott Commins of the University of North Carolina said cases are increasing around Oklahoma and north into the Great Lakes as warmer winters and shifting deer populations help ticks expand into new areas.
