MILESFORTIS

These days, you can’t go and call this the rambling of a crackpot

If I were only slightly more paranoid, I’d think that the CDC had weaponized AGS and launched a test run for making us proles allergic to red meat. But give it a day or two and I might get there. Stephen Green

Mysterious, Unexplained Red Meat Allergies Reportedly Explode in Virginia.

I have reported previously at PJ Media that the CDC has been warning lately of an unexplained rise in what was previously a rare red meat allergy called alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) that develops in humans by way of a molecule passed into the bloodstream by a species of tick called the Lone Star Tick.

Via CDC (emphasis added):

During January 1, 2017–December 31, 2022, a total of 357,119 tests were submitted from residences in the United States, corresponding to 295,400 persons. Overall, 90,018 (30.5%) persons received a positive test result in the study period, and the number of persons with positive test results increased from 13,371 in 2017 to 18,885 in 2021.

Among 233,521 persons for whom geographic data were available, suspected cases predominantly occurred in counties within the southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic U.S. Census Bureau regions. These data highlight the evolving emergence of AGS and can be used to help state and local health agencies initiate surveillance and target public health outreach and health care provider education to high-risk localities…

The number of AGS cases in the United States is predicted to increase during the coming years, presenting a critical need for synergistic public health activities including 1) community education targeting tick bite prevention to reduce the risk for acquiring AGS, 2) HCP education to improve timely diagnosis and management, and 3) improved surveillance to aid public health decision-making.

Taking the CDC’s claims of rising AGS at face value, the crucial piece of information is that neither the agency nor any Public Health™ authority has offered a viable explanation for why cases would suddenly explode. So we are left to speculate as to why.

Now Public Health™ officials in Virginia are reporting similar concerns to the CDC.

Via Fox News (emphasis added):

A public health concern with potentially deadly consequences is on the rise in Virginia, health officials said, as people are testing positive for alpha-gal syndrome.

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a little-known meat allergy that is contracted through tick bites and can be life-threatening. It primarily causes hives, angioedema, upset stomach, diarrhea, stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, headaches and a drop in blood pressure, and it can even cause death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which issued a warning about the syndrome last month.

It is known to spread through tick bites, specifically from the lone star tick, which is prevalent in Virginia, according to Julia Murphy, a state public health veterinarian with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

“We do have a lot of lone star ticks here in Virginia, so we think that’s driving a lot of what we are seeing in Virginia when it comes to alpha-gal and people testing positive for alpha-gal,” she said, according to WSET.

This, again, is a totally insufficient explanation. It is already established that lone star ticks, which have been present in North America for thousands and possibly millions of years, transmit the molecule that causes AGS. The disease itself — the symptoms of which are usually very obvious — has been identifiable and testable for decades; all that’s required is to test for the presence of the antibody to the alpha-gal molecule. So there is no real argument here that it’s just more diagnosable now than before.

From my perspective, there are only two real possibilities:

Alpha-gal syndrome is not any more prevalent than it previously was, and this is an anti-meat fearmongering campaign.
There is something else in the environment besides lone star ticks causing alpha-gal syndrome.