SOCIAL MEDIA AND A CASE OF ANAPHYLAXIS Dexter Matrana DO 1 , Gordon Myers MD 2 , Elizabeth Smith MD 2 , Sanjay Kamboj MD 2 Department of Medicine, 1 Internal Medicine Residency Program, 2 Section of Allergy/Immunology, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA INTRODUCTION: Alpha Gal Syndrome (Tick Induced Meat Allergy) is a rare cause of delayed anaphylaxis that develops weeks tomonths after a tick bite following ingestion of mammalian meats. CASE: A 28-year-old woman without significant past medical history presented to the Allergy/Immunology clinic with concerns of having alpha gal syndrome. Three months prior she was bitten by a tick while hiking in Northwest Georgia. She reports about four hours after ingestion of a pepperoni pizza, she woke up experiencing wheezing, shortness of breath, and hives all over her body. She took Benadryl and by the morning her symptoms had completely resolved. A few weeks later, she ate a cheeseburger, and approximately four hours later, developed similar symptom. Coincidentally, she heard a podcast about meat allergy and the symptoms described matched her symptoms, prompting her to seek medical evaluation. As her history and presentation were consistent with Alpha Gal syndrome, a specific IgE level to Alpha-Gal was ordered and found to be elevated at 46.3 IU/mL. A diagnosis of Alpha Gal syndrome was confirmed, and she was instructed to avoid beef, pork, lamb and other mammalian meats. DISCUSSION: The diagnosis of alpha gal was initially discovered in 2006. Approximately three months after a Lone Star tick bite, there is a immunoglobulin class switch that is thought to occur in the skin that leads to the development of an IgE antibody to alpha-1,3-galactose, a carbohydrate found on mammalian meats. Through the use of public awareness regarding tick bites, various news outlets and social media platforms have increased awareness of this rare disease. When produced correctly and factually accurate, social media can be a powerful tool to help raise awareness to rare diseases.
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