As alpha-gal syndrome rapidly spreads across the Vineyard, Island public health officials are hoping to gauge the public’s concern over the meat allergy and gather important information that could aid in future research.
Ticks
2024
December 2, 2024
In a new study, scientists say they found more infected ticks had fed on shrews, upending the common belief that white-footed mice were the main culprits.
October 31, 2024
In 2020, the hospital recorded just two confirmed cases of alpha-gal sensitivity. By 2022, the number had jumped to 77. This year, as of Sept. 30, the hospital had 365 positive cases.
September 26, 2024
A study published earlier this month in the entomology journal Insects delves into how lone star and deer ticks have co-existed since the rapid rise of lone stars, and what it could mean for the future.
September 11, 2024
In the first week of September, the hospital emergency room treated “approximately 20 cases of lesions that are consistent with tick larvae bites,” said Dr. Ellen McMahon, the hospital’s chief of medicine.
June 20, 2024
This week Sam Permar wrapped filming on his original short film, Tick, a dark satire of the Island’s tick-borne illness epidemic. His sister Tessa was by his side as producer, choreographer and nearly everything else.
