And arthritis of a somewhat different sort sometimes follows Lyme disease, an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi which is passed on by tick bites.

ECONOMIST: Bugged by disease

However, Commins did explain that if a person were to avoid tick bites for some time, he or she could become less allergic to meat.

CNN: Ticks causing mysterious meat allergy

That is when Platts-Mills concluded there is some relation to the number of tick bites one receives and how allergic one may become to alpha-gal.

CNN: Ticks causing mysterious meat allergy

The then-15-year-old suffered insect bites that led to tick-borne encephalitis, her attorneys said.

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The doctors believe the allergy could more closely be related to bites that come from tick larvae, or baby ticks.

CNN: Ticks causing mysterious meat allergy

Munn's attorneys say she suffered insect bites that led to tick-borne encephalitis in 2007 when she was in the ninth grade, leaving her unable to speak and brain damaged.

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