Jeffrey Wilson, UVA Health (IMAGE) University of Virginia Health System Caption "The best evidence is that lone stars [ticks] are the dominant cause of the alpha-gal meat allergy in North America," said UVA researcher Jeffrey Wilson, MD, PhD. "That said, we wouldn't be surprised if other ticks, chiggers or even other kinds of parasitic organisms can occasionally contribute to allergic sensitization to alpha-gal." Credit UVA Health Usage Restrictions May be used to accompany news coverage of the meat allergy discovery. All other uses require express written permission from UVA Health. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.