In the course of the last 2-3 years, I have become aware of several friends that have Alpha Gal Allergy. This week, a very close friend and co-worker approached me and asked about my symptoms and was going to get tested. For his sake, I hope the test is negative!
The thought occurred to me (again) that I believe the total number of incidences are much greater than researchers and CDC/NIH are reporting. I have 4 friends that have it. I have many friends that know someone who has it. When you start thinking about exponential factors - it can seem like an epidemic!
According to a recent article on NPR, Dr. Scott Commins at UNC is indicating 5,000 cases in the US. A year ago (from the same source) the number was 3,500. I would not be surprised if the actual number is much higher than that. Question: Where does the data come from?
Article on NPR's site from June 25, 2018:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/06/25/621080751/red-meat-allergies-caused-by-tick-bites-are-on-the-rise
I urge everyone who has Alpha Gal Allergy to self report on this website with a pin on this map.
https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=555038
On this map, there are (as of the date of this post) 2,779 self reporting cases
I hope the number of reported incidences (even if self reported) demonstrate the significance of this condition and hopefully more research through federal funding with the CDC and NIH.
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