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Volume 31, Number 4—April 2025
Dispatch

Alpha-Gal Syndrome after Ixodes scapularis Tick Bite and Statewide Surveillance, Maine, USA, 2014–2023

Eleanor F. Saunders1, Haris Sohail1, Devin J. Myles, Dawn Charnetzky, Bryan N. Ayres, William L. Nicholson, Scott P. Commins, and Johanna S. SalzerComments to Author 
Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (E.F. Saunders, B.N. Ayres, W.L. Nicholson, J.S. Salzer); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA (E.F. Saunders, S.P. Commins); Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Augusta, Maine, USA (H. Sohail, D.J. Myles); MCD Global Health, Hallowell, Maine, USA (D.J. Myles); Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine, USA (D. Charnetzky)

Main Article

Table 2

Retrospective surveillance summary of residents with confirmed or suspect alpha-gal syndrome, Maine, USA, 2014–2023*

Category Total no. cases/no. in category (%)
Sex
F 22/57 (39)
M
 35/57 (61)
Race
White 55/57 (96)
Unknown
 2/57 (4)
Ethnicity
Non-Hispanic 55/57 (96)
Unknown
 2/57 (4)
Suspect cases, no or insufficient clinical documentation for confirmation 34/57 (60)
Clinical diagnosis of alpha-gal syndrome, reaction timing unspecified 7/34 (21)
Clinical evidence of allergy to meat or α-gal–containing products, reaction timing unspecified 16/34 (47)
Insufficient symptom data
 11/34 (32)
Confirmed cases 23/57 (40)
Interviewed by public health officials†
 12/23 (52)
History of tick bite
Recent tick bite 11/12 (92)
No known recent tick bite
 1/12 (8)
Travel
OOS travel <6 mo preceding symptom onset 3/12 (25)
No OOS travel <6 mo preceding symptom onset, OOS travel >6 mo reported 4/12 (33)
No OOS travel <6 mo preceding symptom onset, OOS travel >6 mo unknown 3/12 (25)
No travel history obtained 2/12 (17)

*Fifty-seven confirmed or suspect cases identified by Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, November 2014–October 2023. Mean age, 57 years; age range, 7–81 years. Cases classified as suspect or confirmed according to 2022 Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists standardized case definition for alpha-gal syndrome. Thirty-four of 57 persons with suspected cases could not be interviewed, and medical charts lacked information about symptom timing required to meet confirmed case definition. OOS, out of state. †Another 11/23 case-patients confirmed through chart review or provider interview only.

Main Article

1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: February 04, 2025
Page updated: March 19, 2025
Page reviewed: March 19, 2025
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