Prevalence of Alpha-Gal Sensitization Among Kentucky Timber Harvesters and Forestry and Wildlife Practitioners

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bellamy P ; Commins SP ; Kussainov N ; Sanderson, Wayne T. ; Stringer JW ; Winter K
• Description:
  This study shows that persons in occupations such as timber harvesting and forestry and wildlife practitioners who encounter frequent exposure to ticks may have a high prevalence of sensitization to the sugar molecule galactose-a-1,3 galactose. Clinicians who treat patients in occupations with frequent exposure to ticks, or with mild to severe gastrointestinal reactions when they eat red meat, should access sensitization to galactose-a-galactose. It has been discovered that people develop an allergy to an oligosaccharide galactose-a-1,3-galactose, also called alpha-gal, after experiencing tick bites. Allergic reactions typically occur after eating meat from mammals that contain alpha-gal or are exposed to products made from mammals. An association between tick bites and this allergy has been described in studies that detected serum IgE (sIgE) in antibodies to alpha-gal in persons reporting a history of tick bites. US, European, and Australian studies have indicated that this disaccharide is not associated with just a single tick vector. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Antibodies Digestive System Digestive System Diseases Epidemiology Forestry Hypersensitivity Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Allergic Reactions Food Forestry Workers Gastrointestinal System Disorders Tickborne Diseases
• ISSN:
  2213-2198
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  9
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062776
• Citation:
  J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2021 May; 9(5):2113-2116
• Contact Point Address:
  Wayne T. Sanderson, PhD, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, 114 C.E. Barnhart Bldg, 1398 Nicholasville Rd, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546
• Email:
  wsa223@uky.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Kentucky, Lexington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20120701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice
• End Date:
  20240630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a52076e812fab3e7d38e0bd92ce35305a3b543b9c0083e1a63422e1ea5bb051a4a6b57b6e901b3358fe374988494ad6d0f7360b5b0ac15f8a9c98ab8449f170e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225966/cdc_225966_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 335.56 KB ]