new south wales

mammalian meat allergy

The link between paralysis ticks and mammalian meat allergy

@JudyEv (373315)

Rockingham, Australia

March 2, 2026 3:00am CST

A 16-year-old boy has died in New South Wales, Australia, after eating beef sausages on a camping trip. From the age of two, Jeremy Webb was repeatedly bitten by the Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus). Some who are repeatedly bitten go on to develop a life-threatening allergy to the sugar molecule alpha galactose (alpha-gal). Alpha-gal is present in the saliva and gut of ticks. This manifests as an allergy to red meats, but also includes gelatine, fats, cow milk and some exotic meats. Jeremy’s death is the first documented fatal case of mammalian meat allergy in the country and second in the world. The only other fatal documented case is of a 47-year-old New Jersey man. The photo is mine of a handsome bull we saw in France.

20 people like this

20 responses

@LadyDuck (494655)

• Italy

2 Mar

This looks like a Limousine bull, beautiful! I never heard of this very serious problem caused by ticks. Poor young boy.

3 people like this

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@LadyDuck (494655)

• Italy

3 Mar

@JudyEv - It's incredible how something may happen and you have no idea why.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

4 Mar

@LadyDuck For a long time we only had British cattle and sheep breeds here but we now have a range of continental breeds too. Limousins are one of the popular ones.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

I think it might be just a certain kind of tick but it obviously occurs in American too.

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@toniganzon (74067)

• Philippines

2 Mar

So young. I feel so sorry for the family.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

Yes, it's very sad. I guess there will be more cases in the future.

1 person likes this

@AmbiePam (114091)

• United States

2 Mar

Poor kid, and his poor family. There sure are a lot of ways to die.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

It's a bit of a shame that we can't take our pick of how we'll go.

1 person likes this

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (17164)

• China

2 Mar

I have not known of this link.Your post is very informative !

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changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (17164)

• China

3 Mar

@JudyEv There are ticks too. We know ticks may spread multiple deadly diseases such as Lyme disease, forest encephalitis.

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@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

Thanks. I'm glad you found it so. Do you have ticks in China? I guess they're all over the world.

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@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

@changjiangzhibin89 Different ticks cause different diseases it seems.

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@DianneN (250470)

• United States

2 Mar

How sad for that young boy and his family. We have deer ticks here which cause Lyme disease.

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@DianneN (250470)

• United States

3 Mar

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

I think we have Lyme disease in Australia now too. I guess it's always been here but for a long time the authorities denied it.

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@Ineeddentures (20426)

•

2 Mar

Must admit had never heard of these ticks before. That bull in the picture would be good for a few steaks in my freezer

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

There would be a fair bit of meat on this guy. Lots of sausages once you ran out of steaks!

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

4 Mar

@Ineeddentures No big deal but we call them 'sausages' here. It took me a long time to work out what our American friends were talking about when they kept mentioning 'links'.

1 person likes this

@Ineeddentures (20426)

•

3 Mar

@JudyEv And beef links are the best

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@GardenGerty (167958)

• United States

3 Mar

In the US it is the Lone Star Tick--Amblyomma americanum)--that causes alpha-gal. I know of one person locally that suffers with it. There are so many varieties of ticks and so many illnesses they cause. I know of at least one person with lyme disease. I am more cautious about ticks now than when I was younger.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

They say Lyme disease is in Australia but the authorities were denying it at one point. I'm not sure what the current situation is. And it's not just red meat that can trigger an attack. There are several other foods too.

@snowy22315 (203880)

• United States

2 Mar

That sounds terrible. We have a lot of ticks around here. They scare me

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

It's not every tick that causes this but some cause other nasty diseases.

Anne Marie Guyer

@LeaPea2417 (39616)

• Toccoa, Georgia

2 Mar

Thats awful about the boy.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

That's very sad indeed.

1 person likes this

@wolfgirl569 (130603)

• Marion, Ohio

3 Mar

I had one of those for my 4-H project many years ago. Of course he was castrated. But had a wonderful temperament

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

Our bucket-fed calves were always great pets.

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@RasmaSandra (94948)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

2 Mar

Beautiful bull, Lukily never had any problems with allergies or ticks,

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

We used to keep an eye out for ticks when we had the farm.

1 person likes this

@xFiacre (14317)

• Ireland

2 Mar

@judyev I’ve been bitten by ticks but not frequently and not that particular kind. Very sad.

1 person likes this

@JESSY3236 (21673)

• United States

3 Mar

That's sad. I never heard of that ticks can lead to allergies.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

4 Mar

I guess it's only some species but I don't know that for sure.

@Ronrybs (21141)

• London, England

2 Mar

I can see why I'd not heard of this one. A bit worrying that something so small can have such dire consequences

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

It seems really odd sometimes how these diseases come about, as in how it affects humans.

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@Ronrybs (21141)

• London, England

3 Mar

@JudyEv It is and something so small as well

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@rebelann (116206)

• El Paso, Texas

2 Mar

That's so sad. Hopefully this disease will remain totally rare. I hate ticks. So far I haven't been bitten by one but back in the 1990s my dogs were and one of them got Ehrlichiosis from their bites. Thankfully Roscoe has not been bitten by one and hopefully never will be.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

The kangaroos often get ticks so we were always on the watch for them.

1 person likes this

@Tampa_girl7 (54345)

• United States

2 Mar

So young to die. I have not heard of this before.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

Ticks cause other diseases too. I know Lyme disease was once considered as not in Australia but I think it's acknowledged that it is now.

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@wolfgirl569 (130603)

• Marion, Ohio

2 Mar

I never heard of that. He is a good looking bull

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

I took photos of various cattle. I was interested in the different breeds over there. Same with the heavy horses in particular.

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@Fleura (34269)

• United Kingdom

2 Mar

I read about that case, I had never heard of it before.

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@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

The parents had been campaigning to have the disease acknowledged.

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Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (18080)

• Raurkela, India

2 Mar

Those who are allergic to meat and milk should avoid eating them.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

That's the only way to stay safe.

@LindaOHio (215468)

• United States

2 Mar

Ticks are such a menace. I'm so sorry about the boy. Nice bull.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (373315)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar

There is a tick that gets on the kangaroos in the bush. We were always checking ourselves for ticks.

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