NC teen develops mysterious meat allergy

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — About a year ago, 15-year-old Andrew Treadway of Currituck got a tick bite while camping near Charlottesville, Va.

The bite did not appear serious. When he returned to his Moyock home, his mom looked for the tell-tale bulls-eye rash indicating Lyme disease and the flulike symptoms from Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but all appeared normal.

Little did they know that the tick bite would later trigger an allergy to red meat. Today, the Treadways want others to know about the newly discovered allergy that puzzled their family for months.

Making the connection between the tick bite and the allergy was not easy. Several months after the tick bite, the teenager began complaining of unexplained stomach aches and migraines. Ann Treadway said she was baffled by what was causing the problem.

The real alarm came a little later when the family went camping with friends.

Andrew ate nachos for dinner and later played ultimate hide-and-seek with his friends. While hiding in the dark, he remembered putting his hand on something watery. Later, doctors would suspect it was poison ivy or poison oak.

At about 1 a.m., Andrew awoke to itching. He asked his parents to look at his back, which was covered in welts. His face and ears were swollen and lobster red, and his eyes were puffy.

His parents took him to the emergency room at Chesapeake General Hospital, Va., where he was treated immediately for anaphylaxis, an acute allergic reaction that can be fatal.

"They knew just looking at him, something was bad," said Ann Treadway.

At that point, the family had no clue what caused the allergic reaction and doctors surmised exposure to an outdoor plant was probably the trigger.

The next time, Andrew broke out in hives at a completely different setting. This time he was shopping with his family in New York's Times Square after having eaten at Olive Garden. A rash broke out on his neck and all over his back. The family treated him with Benadryl and Pepcid for his stomach ache.

After that episode, the family began to suspect he had a food allergy, possibly to cheese since Andrew had eaten cheese ravioli at the restaurant. They did not suspect a soup with sausage and beef broth had actually caused the reaction.

"While we were looking at one thing, it was actually another," Andrew recalled.

Andrew said he never remembered having an allergic reaction prior to the two outbreaks, although his parents said he had a reaction to pineapple as a child.

Never did the family even guess that the red meat was the cause. In fact, Andrew had eaten pork and beef often without any apparent effect.

After Andrew's third outbreak after he ate two helpings of meat loaf, emergency room doctors advised he see an allergist.

Allergist Ron Purcell at Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Va., said Andrew's case was the first he diagnosed, although he may have seen other cases earlier without knowing it. He learned about the newly identified red meat allergy related to tick bites a couple months before their visit.

"I may have seen it in the past and not known because it is a newly found connection," Purcell said.

Andrew said he didn't believe the doctor when he first suggested the idea.

Dr. Scott Commins of University of Virginia is credited with discovering the connection between tick bites and the red meat allergy only a couple years ago. Unlike Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the condition is not considered a disease. Rather, the tick's saliva is suspected of triggering an allergic reaction that results in hives or anaphylaxis.

For Andrew, the severe allergic reaction was triggered only when he ate heavy doses of red meat. Purcell said the triggers for other patients could be different. For example, one patient may be able to eat pork chops but not bacon, he explained.

"We are not always sure what the tipping point is," said Purcell.

Finding out how many North Carolina residents have been diagnosed with the problem is not easy.

Barry Engber, medical entomologist for the N.C. Division of Environmental Health, said the state keeps records on cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease, but has no figures for the newly discovered allergic reactions.

A regional allergy center in the Roanoke and Lynchburg, Va., area reported more than 200 cases in two years, according to an article in the Roanoke Times.

Engber said most likely only a small percentage of people bit by the ticks actually develop the allergy.

The tick suspected of causing the allergy — known as the Lone Star tick — is the most commonly found human-biting tick in eastern North Carolina, he said.

"If it was just the Lone Star tick that caused the allergy, everybody would have it," said Engber.

Purcell agreed that only a small number of people bitten by the tick will actually develop the allergy. He said patients who have other allergies are the most susceptible.

The discovery will be valuable in helping doctors and patients identify the often unknown causes for allergies, said Purcell. He believes he's already identified another case since Andrew was diagnosed.

The causes for about a fourth of severe allergic reactions are unknown, he said. The newly discovered allergy will be one more tool for doctors and patients to consider when searching for the cause.

"When you can put something like this together . and see what you can do to avoid it in the future, that's a win," said Purcell.

For Andrew, the mystery has been solved, although living with this newly found knowledge will not be easy.

He can still eat red meat in small quantities. He's been known to sneak a piece of prime rib on his plate at a buffet. But he limits himself to a bite or two before switching to chicken and fish. Aside from avoiding big servings of red meat, there is no cure.

Ann Treadway said there is a chance he may outgrow the allergy. Only time will tell.

"It's such a new thing, they just don't know," she said.

While they wait, she's hoping to spread the word to other families who may not know the answer to the recently unraveled medical mystery.