Behnam Keshavarz, UVA Health (IMAGE) University of Virginia Health System Caption "We did not set out to study fire ants, but when the number of alpha-gal cases in the Gulf Coast was consistently lower than we expected, the fire ant emerged as an interesting explanation," said UVA researcher Behnam Keshavarz, PhD, a co-first author of a new scientific paper outlining the discovery. 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.