Concerns about under-reporting of lone star tick bites that can cause a meat allergy are mounting in New York and other states as climate change fuels spikes in populations of many tick species.
Parts of the Hudson Valley, including Westchester County, and Long Island topped the list of New York communities suffering the most cases of tick-borne disease agents linked to alpha-gal syndrome, a serious and life-threatening allergic reaction that appears in mammals after a tick bite, state data show.
Once a person is bitten, they can have symptoms appear after eating red meat or if they're exposed to other products made from mammals, health officials said.
Still, New York fell outside the states with the worst risks of alpha-gal syndrome, which is at its highest across 13 states in eastern, southeastern and the south-central parts of the United States, the most recent federal data from 2017 to 2022 show. Suffolk County on Long Island, however, was among the counties with the most cases nationally.
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Are lone star ticks spreading in NY?
The spread of lone star ticks — similar to other tick species — has worsened in recent years, as rising temperatures result in milder winters that allow the tiny parasites to thrive. A national study found about 90,000 suspected cases of alpha-gal syndrome between 2017 and 2021, with the number of new infections increasing by about 15,000 each year.
Still, thousands of tickborne disease cases, including Lyme disease and alpha-gap syndrome, go unreported each year across the country, federal officials noted, citing a lack of awareness among some health providers and other barriers to diagnosing the serious illnesses.
In New York, the lone star tick bite disease risk was by far the highest in Suffolk County, which had about 3,700 suspected alpha-gal syndrome cases from 2017 to 2021, or 4% of the total cases in the nation during that period, the federal study found.
Still, tracking of tick disease agents suggested lone star ticks were spreading through much of the Hudson Valley and parts of the Southern Tier. But Lyme disease, which is caused by blacklegged tick bites, remained the most pressing tickborne threat statewide, including in Monroe County, which reported 306 cases in 2022.
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How bad is tick season in New York in 2024?
After New York's 2024 tick season ramped up to a record-setting pace in March, the latest emergency room reporting for June suggested this year could fall short of 2017 — the worst tick season in the past decade, federal data show.
Among the findings of a USA TODAY Network analysis of public health data:
- ER tick bite reporting in the Northeast hit 167 visits for tick bites per 100,000 ER visits overall in June, well short of the 283 visits record for June in 2017.
- But early ER reporting for July suggested this season is far from over, with the Northeast seeing 128 visits for tick bites per 100,000 ER visits through July 7. By contrast, 2017 set the record high for the entire month of July (169 visits).
What happens if I get bit by a lone star tick?
A person who is bit by a lone star tick can experience alpha-gal syndrome symptoms which can include the following:
- Hives or itching.
- Itchy or scaly skin.
- Swelling of the lips, face, tongue, throat, or other body parts.
- Wheezing or shortness of breath.
- Stomach pain, diarrhea, upset stomach or vomiting.
Tick bite safety: Bit by a tick? What you should know about tick testing and tick removal
The Mayo Clinic advises you to get emergency medical treatment if you have:
- Trouble breathing.
- Rapid or a weak pulse.
- Dizzy or lightheaded feeling.
- Drooling and not being able to swallow.
- Full-body redness and warmth, called flushing.
Ahjané Forbes and Julia Gomez of USA TODAY contributed reporting.
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