The United States has recorded its first known death caused by alpha-gal syndrome, a rare and severe allergy to red meat. A 47-year-old New Jersey man died in 2024 after eating a beef burger that triggered a deadly allergic reaction. He already knew he had alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that begins when a tick bite exposes the body to a sugar found in mammalian meat.
After eating the burger at a barbecue, he started vomiting and collapsed hours later. Doctors could not find signs of heart failure or any major organ issue. His death confused investigators, and the initial autopsy reported “sudden unexplained death.”
His wife asked a family friend, Dr. Erin McFeely, to help review the case. She contacted experts at UVA Health in Virginia. The team studied the autopsy and toxicology results. They concluded the man likely suffered anaphylaxis triggered by the beef he ate. Their findings were published last week in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills, the allergist who first identified alpha-gal syndrome, said the tragedy occurred because no one recognized the reaction as anaphylaxis. Researchers urge anyone with suspected alpha-gal syndrome to get tested and avoid all red meat.
