New tick can make you allergic to meat

CREATED Jul 25, 2013

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MADISON - There's a new tick in Wisconsin, and it's a nasty little bugger.  "These are more aggressive than our normal ticks," said UW Madison expert Susan Paskewitz.

The Lone Star Tick had previously been confined to southern states.  But for whatever reason, more of them appear to be surviving in the north, including now Wisconsin.

"They aggressively go after hosts.  So you're read about people in areas in the southern US who step in the wrong place and they end up with 100 ticks."

And if they get you, there's a good chance you will get sick.  They carry a pathogen that can result in flu-like symptoms.  In some cases, people have developed a temporary allergy to red meat.  "So people develop hives on the milder spectrum a few hours after having meat all the way to severe anaphylactic shock," Paskewitz said.