A free app that assesses the risk of exposure to lone star ticks, which can carry the molecules that cause alpha-gal syndrome, is now available for download on the Apple App Store.
The app, TickZone, updated daily based on the habitat and time of the year ticks are most likely to be present. The database is maintained nationwide to track conditions and predict tick activity.
Alpha-gal syndrome is triggered when a person is bitten by a tick carrying alpha-gal, a sugar present in the tissue of nonprimate mammals, passing it into the victim's bloodstream. In some individuals, this triggers an immune system reaction, causing subsequent allergic responses following ingestion or airborne exposure to the sugar.
More commonly known as a “red meat allergy,” the syndrome causes reactions ranging from mild gastrointestinal upset, stomach cramps, diarrhea and skin rashes to anaphylactic shock and airway swelling severe enough to cause death.
Diagnosis may take years depending on severity of symptoms, which often mimic common gastrointestinal illnesses. Avoiding mammalian meat, dairy and products derived from them is the only reliable way to prevent a reaction. There is currently no cure or treatment, making tick bite prevention the best defense.
Users can search specific locations in the app, which scores risk based on the type of vegetation most likely to harbor ticks and the seasons they are active and reproducing. App creator Nathan Burnett said Mountain View and West Plains feature a mix of open pasture and woodland. He described this environment as a “mosaic” of second-growth brush rather than mature timber, which concentrates lone star ticks.
Burnett noted that 40% of Missouri towns are located in areas with more brushy cover than forest, and 59% are in counties where ticks are considered established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Howell County, the app also predicts the density and activity of the deer tick and the brown dog tick. However, it notes that CDC-tracked cases of Lyme disease — which is carried by the deer tick — are so low in the area that the risk is negligible.
“The lone star holds close to its summer level through August and stays elevated into September, sustained by the larval seed-tick swarms that run July through September, while the deer tick is well past its peak by then,” Burnett explained. “Daily scores move with the weather, and a hot dry stretch pushes them down.”
On Thursday, the app reported a low risk level for West Plains at 10 out of 100. However, it cautioned that lone star ticks are currently abundant in their larval, or seed tick, stage. Regular preventive measures, such as checking the body and clothing and showering after being outdoors in tick habitats, are always recommended.
