In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control reported that an estimated 450,000 Americans suffered from alpha-gal syndrome or AGS. Numbers may be higher since AGS is not a reportable condition, which means health care providers don’t have to notify public health authorities when it’s diagnosed. Even worse, there is currently no cure. From barns and backyards to hiking trails and hunting blinds, Americans rethink how they live after a single tick sinks in. Alpha-gal syndrome is a life-altering food allergy triggered by a tick bite, and it’s changing careers and pastimes across the country. AGS isn’t your typical food allergy. It’s a delayed allergic reaction to a sugar molecule found in mammalian meats, like beef and bacon, and products derived from them. Unlike other food allergies, which often cause immediate symptoms, AGS reactions can take hours to appear. When your livelihood is on the line Those who work outdoors face some of the highest risks for tick exposure. Occupations like military service, park management, landscaping and environmental sciences often require extended time in wooded or brush-filled areas where ticks thrive. Additionally, some people with AGS experience allergic reactions simply through contact with mammals. For farmers like April Garbat Vaughan, co-founder of Sanctuary Farm & Rest House in Warm Springs, Ark., an AGS diagnosis changes how they work. “We’re switching what we raise from pastured pigs to turkeys,” she said. Handling livestock now requires extra protection – long sleeves, masks and post-exposure cleanup. Rosie Wynne-Meador, a lifelong horse lover in Southern Maryland, can no longer give riding lessons or train horses professionally. While she still owns horses and cares for them with her husband’s help, she says, “I don’t do the things I used to do.” Vicki Cook, a farmer at 4C Ag Service near Oklahoma City, has also had to change how she engages with the land and her community. She hosts a summer farm camp for elementary-aged kids, but can no longer lead it due to her AGS diagnosis and concerns about additional tick exposure. At Springhouse Farm in Vilas, N.C., flower and vegetable grower Amy Fiedler said AGS hasn’t stopped her from working, but it’s changed how she approaches it. “I can no longer mow my farm because of how my grass allergies trigger my histamines and then make me more susceptible to an AGS reaction,” she said. Alpha-gal is also why she now has plant-based farm-to-table dinners. Amy Pardus is the office manager at a water utility company in Kellyville, Okla. She said field workers often track ticks into the building, and one found its way to the middle of her back where it latched on in a conference room during a board meeting. “A month after that, I had my first anaphylactic reaction,” she said. When you love being outside It’s not just jobs that take people outdoors. You may be at risk of developing AGS if you enjoy hiking, camping, hunting, birdwatching, trail running, foraging or even gardening in your backyard. Alyson Lunsford, bitten by a tick in Lincoln, Neb., said her love of hunting has taken a back seat. “I was an avid hunter before my diagnosis, but if I even get the blood from a mammal on me, I have a reaction. I have had to limit my hunting to when I can be sure I will […]