scholarly journals Association between lone star tick bites and increased alpha-gal sensitization: evidence from a prospective cohort of outdoor workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cedar L. Mitchell ◽  
Feng-Chang Lin ◽  
Meagan Vaughn ◽  
Charles S. Apperson ◽  
Steven R. Meshnick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Red Meat ◽  
Amblyomma Americanum ◽  
Allergic Response ◽  
Study Cohort ◽  
Tick Bites ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Lone Star Tick ◽  
Outdoor Workers ◽  
Delayed Anaphylaxis

Abstract Background Alpha-gal is an oligosaccharide implicated in delayed anaphylaxis following red meat consumption. Exposure to tick bites has been correlated with development of an allergic response to alpha-gal. However, evidence prospectively linking exposure to a single tick species and an immune response to alpha-gal is lacking. Methods We used serum samples from a prior study cohort of outdoor workers in North Carolina, USA, with high exposure to the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, to prospectively evaluate the relationship between tick bites and anti-alpha-gal IgE antibodies. Results Individuals who reported exposure to one or more tick bites were significantly more likely to have a positive change in anti-alpha-gal IgE compared to individuals with no reported tick bites. This relationship was not dependent on time. A trend toward increasing number of tick bites and increased anti-alpha-gal IgE levels was observed but not statistically significant. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study to prospectively link documented exposure to A. americanum bites and increased sensitization to alpha-gal in a cohort of outdoor workers. Our results support the role of A. americanum as likely agents for eliciting an allergic response to red meat, and highlight the importance of preventing tick bites.

scholarly journals Protective Effectiveness of Long-Lasting Permethrin Impregnated Clothing Against Tick Bites in an Endemic Lyme Disease Setting: A Randomized Control Trial Among Outdoor Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1532-1538
Author(s):  
Cedar Mitchell ◽  
Megan Dyer ◽  
Feng-Chang Lin ◽  
Natalie Bowman ◽  
Thomas Mather ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
The United States ◽  
Amblyomma Americanum ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tick Bites ◽  
Outdoor Workers ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Protective Effectiveness

Abstract Tick-borne diseases are a growing threat to public health in the United States, especially among outdoor workers who experience high occupational exposure to ticks. Long-lasting permethrin-impregnated clothing has demonstrated high initial protection against bites from blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae), in laboratory settings, and sustained protection against bites from the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae), in field tests. However, long-lasting permethrin impregnation of clothing has not been field tested among outdoor workers who are frequently exposed to blacklegged ticks. We conducted a 2-yr randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial among 82 outdoor workers in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. Participants in the treatment arm wore factory-impregnated permethrin clothing, and the control group wore sham-treated clothing. Outdoor working hours, tick encounters, and bites were recorded weekly to assess protective effectiveness of long-lasting permethrin-impregnated garments. Factory-impregnated clothing significantly reduced tick bites by 65% in the first study year and by 50% in the second year for a 2-yr protective effect of 58%. No significant difference in other tick bite prevention method utilization occurred between treatment and control groups, and no treatment-related adverse outcomes were reported. Factory permethrin impregnation of clothing is safe and effective for the prevention of tick bites among outdoor workers whose primary exposure is to blacklegged ticks in the northeastern United States.

Delayed urticaria or anaphylaxis after consumption of red meat with evidence of alpha-gal sensitisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. e236923
Author(s):  
Maria Beatriz Garcia ◽  
Andres F Gomez-Samper ◽  
Elizabeth Garcia ◽  
Augusto Peñaranda
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Amblyomma Americanum ◽  
Food Allergies ◽  
Tick Bites ◽  
Ige Antibodies ◽  
Meat Allergy ◽  
Red Meat Allergy ◽  
History Of

Food allergies to red meat, specifically to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), a mammalian oligosaccharide, are considered to be very rare, especially in Asia and Latin America. Most of the cases reported are characterised by symptoms of delayed urticaria or anaphylaxis after the consumption of red meat. Sensitisation to red meat has been linked to the use of cetuximab or tick bites, especially from the Amblyomma americanum and Ixodes spp species. Here, we documented a case study from a Colombian male patient with symptoms of delayed urticaria and anaphylaxis with a history of tick bites in Colombia. The patient presented with IgE antibodies specific to alpha-gal, which is the most common epitope linked to red meat allergy induced by tick bites.

A Novel Phospholipase A2Activity in Saliva of the Lone Star Tick,Amblyomma americanum(L.)

1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.S. Bowman ◽  
C.L. Gengler ◽  
M.R. Surdick ◽  
K. Zhu ◽  
R.C. Essenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amblyomma Americanum ◽  
Lone Star Tick

scholarly journals Why so many unknown genes? Partitioning orphans from a representative transcriptome of the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum

BMC Genomics ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K Gibson ◽  
Zach Smith ◽  
Clay Fuqua ◽  
Keith Clay ◽  
John K Colbourne
Keyword(s):  
Amblyomma Americanum ◽  
Lone Star Tick

scholarly journals The bacterial community of the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum)

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Paulina Maldonado-Ruiz ◽  
Saraswoti Neupane ◽  
Yoonseong Park ◽  
Ludek Zurek
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Amblyomma Americanum ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Culturable Bacteria ◽  
Core Microbiome ◽  
Lone Star Tick ◽  
Animal Pathogens ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Culture Independent ◽  
Culture Dependent

Abstract Background The lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), an important vector of a wide range of human and animal pathogens, is very common throughout the East and Midwest of the USA. Ticks are known to carry non-pathogenic bacteria that may play a role in their vector competence for pathogens. Several previous studies using the high throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies reported the commensal bacteria in a tick midgut as abundant and diverse. In contrast, in our preliminary survey of the field collected adult lone star ticks, we found the number of culturable/viable bacteria very low. Methods We aimed to analyze the bacterial community of A. americanum by a parallel culture-dependent and a culture-independent approach applied to individual ticks. Results We analyzed 94 adult females collected in eastern Kansas and found that 60.8% of ticks had no culturable bacteria and the remaining ticks carried only 67.7 ± 42.8 colony-forming units (CFUs)/tick representing 26 genera. HTS of the 16S rRNA gene resulted in a total of 32 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with the dominant endosymbiotic genera Coxiella and Rickettsia (> 95%). Remaining OTUs with very low abundance were typical soil bacterial taxa indicating their environmental origin. Conclusions No correlation was found between the CFU abundance and the relative abundance from the culture-independent approach. This suggests that many culturable taxa detected by HTS but not by culture-dependent method were not viable or were not in their culturable state. Overall, our HTS results show that the midgut bacterial community of A. americanum is very poor without a core microbiome and the majority of bacteria are endosymbiotic.

scholarly journals Serum Sex Hormone Binding Globulin Concentration as a Predictor of Ovarian Response During Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junyu Zhai ◽  
Shang Li ◽  
Yinci Zhu ◽  
Yun Sun ◽  
Zi-Jiang Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Ovarian Response ◽  
Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation ◽  
Sex Hormone ◽  
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin ◽  
Study Cohort ◽  
Ovarian Hyperstimulation ◽  
Hormone Binding ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose: Serum concentrations of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), a glycated homodimeric plasma transport protein, correlate positively with the total number of follicles in women with infertility. However, the relationship between serum SHBG concentrations and the ovarian response during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and whether this relationship differs between women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remains unclear.Methods: The study cohort included 120 participants (60 non-PCOS and 60 PCOS) undergoing in vitro fertilization. Serum samples were collected from each participant every 2–3 days during the COH cycle. The concentrations of serum SHBG and other sex hormones were determined to investigate the relationship between serum SHBG concentrations and the ovarian response in women with and without PCOS.Results: We found that the serum SHBG concentration was positively correlated with the ovarian response in non-PCOS patients but not in PCOS patients.Conclusion: The serum SHBG concentration may be clinically useful as a predictor of the ovarian response during COH in patients without PCOS.

scholarly journals Recurring Anaphylaxis: A New Line of Questioning for your HPI

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-21
Author(s):  
Wahid Lana ◽  
◽  
Aziz Sameh ◽  
Abraham Christina ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Reaction ◽  
Unknown Etiology ◽  
Shortness Of Breath ◽  
Tick Bites ◽  
Ige Antibody ◽  
Delayed Onset ◽  
The Past ◽  
Delayed Anaphylaxis ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Mammalian Meat

Anaphylaxis is a serious life-threatening allergic reaction that typically has an immediate onset. It can present as flushing, angioedema, shortness of breath, rash and result in death if not treated immediately. In the past ten years, an emerging cause of delayed anaphylaxis has been identified. An IgE antibody to a mammalian oligosaccharide epitope (alpha-gal, or galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose) has been linked to both immediate and delayed onset anaphylaxis. The immediate form is associated with the first exposure to cetuximab; whereas the delayed onset occurs after ingestion of mammalian meat such as beef and pork. The presentation can develop 2-6 hours after ingestion. This IgE antibody to alpha-gal is strongly suggested that Lone Star tick bites have been the culprit. It is imperative when caring for an anaphylaxis patient of unknown etiology, to consider a line of questioning to not only include recent tick bites, but also last 2-3 meals ingested to identify if mammalian meat may have been the trigger.

The effects of water exposure, soil conditions, and fungus exposure on hatching of the larval lone star tick,Amblyomma americanum(Acari: Ixodidae)

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay A. Yoder ◽  
Benjamin A. Rausch ◽  
Brian Z. Hedges ◽  
Sarah E. Stueber ◽  
Andrew J. Jajack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amblyomma Americanum ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Lone Star Tick ◽  
Water Exposure
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