tick-borne virus

More and more cases of alpha-gal syndrome are being diagnosed in Missouri, but because the condition does not have to be reported to the state, it’s hard to know just how common it truly is. And without an accurate count, it can be hard for funding and policy decisions to be made.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 450,000 people in the US have alpha-gal syndrome - a tickborne allergy to red meat — while many others have never heard of the condition at all.

In July, University of Missouri Extension launched a new survey — asking Missourians what they know and don’t know about alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat and other mammalian products that’s contracted through the bite of the lone star tick.

Representative Matthew Overcast (R-Ava) has five children. Three of them have Alpha Gal, an allergy transmitted from some types of ticks that makes a person allergic to many types of meat products.

A new invasive tick species was recently found in St. Louis County, with more sightings expected this spring and summer.

You may have heard the ticks are bad this year due to the mild winter or ticks are getting worse in Missouri. But what’s the reality of these claims? KBIA’s Rebecca Smith has more on how climate change may be impacting the ticks – and the humans of Missouri.

Most tick-borne illnesses aren’t life-threatening or chronic – if caught early and treated. But ticks create an additional challenge for the unhoused community of Columbia.

It’s tick season. And while ticks are annoying when you head outside, KBIA’s Rebecca Smith tells us about the risk of tick-borne illnesses and what you can do to keep yourself safe.

Missouri health officials have refused to comply with a subpoena for information on a tick-borne virus that killed a state worker.The subpoena is the…