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Alpha-gal Alliance systematically addresses the unmet needs of the alpha-gal syndrome community through direct action, institutional capacity building, and coordinated inter-institutional and cross-sector initiatives.
Alpha-gal syndrome
an allergy and a tick-borne condition
Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a serious, sometimes life-threatening allergy to a sugar found in most mammals and products made from mammals. More than 60% of people with AGS have life-threatening, anaphylactic reactions, and a number of fatalities have occurred.
Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) develops after tick bites. In the United States, most cases are associated with lone star ticks, which are most common in the southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic United States.
Preliminary data suggest that other ticks found in the U.S. may also induce AGS, including black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), Western black-legged ticks (Ixodes pacifica), Cayenne ticks (Amblyomma cajennense complex), and invasive Asian longhorned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis).
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↓
Adapted from McGill SK, Hashash JG, Platts-Mills TA. AGA Clinical Practice Update on Alpha-Gal Syndrome for the GI Clinician: Commentary. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol.
Created with BioRender.com
AGS has rapidly evolved from a medical curiosity to a
major emerging public health concern.
450,000 Americans
In 2022, the CDC estimated that 450,000 Americans had alpha-gal syndrome. New surveillance data suggests that the number is much higher.
10th most common food allergen
Alpha-gal syndrome is the 10th most common food allergen in the U.S.
60-75% experience anaphylaxis
60-75% of people with AGS have anaphylactic reactions.
50% have severe reactions to medical products
50% of patients with AGS have had an anaphylactic reaction after using a health product that includes alpha-gal.
More than 20 deaths
There are more than 20 confirmed deaths due to alpha-gal reactions, and a number of additional deaths reported by family members that have not been investigated.
78% of providers
78% of providers know little or nothing about alpha-gal syndrome.
2009 known cases
2017 estimated cases
2018 estimated cases
2022 estimated cases
2026?
Estimated alpha-gal syndrome cases in the U.S.
A growing threat to public health
- The CDC has identified alpha-gal syndrome as a growing clinical and public health threat.
- As lone star tick populations grow and their range expands, the number of alpha-gal syndrome cases grows, too.
- According to the CDC, the number of new suspected cases of AGS in the U.S. is increasing by more than 15,000 a year.
- Provisional 2025 data from Virginia and Kentucky suggest there may be more than 30,000 suspected AGS cases per year in these two states alone—indicating that earlier CDC estimates were likely significantly underestimated the number of cases.
- Alpha-gal syndrome is likely the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the United States, but the lack of surveillance means the true scale of the epidemic remains unknown.
Unmet needs
Alpha-gal syndrome awareness
Identified only in 2009, alpha-gal syndrome remains largely unknown or poorly understood by healthcare providers, decision-makers, and the public. This lack of awareness underscores the urgent need for education and outreach, including media engagement.
Accurate information
Patients, clinicians, and decision-makers face a substantial information gap on alpha-gal syndrome, with much of the publicly available information remaining incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent with peer-reviewed evidence and expert consensus. This informational gap highlights the need for evidence-based informational resources and educational tools.
Informed providers
Widespread gaps in provider knowledge required to recognize, diagnose, and manage AGS highlight the urgent need for targeted education for healthcare professionals.
Improved diagnostics and therapies
Funding is needed to accelerate research that clarifies the immunological mechanisms and natural history of alpha-gal syndrome, improves its diagnosis and treatment, and quantifies its economic burden.
Safe food options
People with alpha-gal syndrome need reliable access to safe food, supported by clear information and practical guidance to identify safe foods and avoid harmful exposures. Similar guidance is equally needed for the food service community that serves them.
Safe Drugs, Biologics, Medical Devices & Perioperative Care
Improved guidance is needed on the presence of alpha-gal in medical products, associated risks, and appropriate protocols for the use of products derived from mammals or containing mammalian ingredients for people with AGS.
Prevention
There is no cure for alpha-gal syndrome. Prevention is essential to slowing the accelerating growth of AGS and other tick-borne disease (TBD) cases and reducing their disease and economic burden. Decades of promoting personal protective measures in the absence of meaningful tick control efforts have not produced a measurable reduction in TBD cases. It’s time to place greater emphasis on ecological interventions that reduce tick populations and interrupt disease transmission.
Our approach
Evidence-based
Strategic
Solutions-focused
Collaborative
Systems-oriented
Programs
Alpha-gal Information
Goal:
Advance understanding of alpha-gal syndrome by developing educational resources and tools for patients, providers, and other key audiences.
The Alpha-gal Syndrome Awareness Campaign
Goal:
Advance awareness of alpha-gal syndrome among the general public, patients, providers, and at-risk populations through media and social media outreach.
Alpha-gal Research Initiative
Goal:
Catalyze research that deepens the scientific understanding of alpha-gal syndrome, improves its diagnosis and treatment, quantifies its economic burden, and advances its prevention.
The Alpha-gal Coalition
Goal:
Advance coordinated strategies to improve the lives of people affected by alpha-gal syndrome through collaboration, shared knowledge, and strategic action.
A joint Alpha-gal Alliance/Alpha-gal Foundation project.
Community Advancement
Goal:
Build capacity within the alpha-gal syndrome community by strengthening institutions, fostering community leadership, and expanding access to educational resources and financial support.
Alpha-gal RURAL HEALTH INITIATIVE
Goal:
Raise awareness about AGS as a threat to rural health and to provide educational tools to disproportionately impacted populations, rural providers, hospitals, and clinics.
Featured projects
The Alpha-gal Information Website
Alpha-gal Information is the most comprehensive resource on alpha-gal syndrome and a critical tool for patients, providers, researchers, and the media.
Alpha-gal Syndrome
Webinar for Dietitians
An introduction to alpha-gal syndrome for dietitians, with continuing education credits. This webinar was developed in partnership with the National Pork Board.
Alpha-gal Syndrome
Patient Factsheet
A concise, patient-friendly resource designed for distribution by healthcare providers to help patients understand their AGS diagnosis and navigate life with the condition.
Alpha-gal Syndrome
Economic Burden Analysis
An analysis of the economic burden of AGS on patients, communities, and healthcare systems.
Extension partnership
Alpha-gal Alliance is working to catalyze the formation of a working group of land-grant university extension agencies to develop and distribute targeted educational materials and tools for high-risk rural populations.
Drug Information
Support for Pill Clarity’s drug information service.
Scaling the response
As recently as 2020, alpha-gal syndrome was largely unknown, with an estimated 5,000 cases, limited clinical awareness, and no coordinated public health response.
Today, it is estimated to affect 500,000 or more Americans, and its scope and impact continue to expand. Yet essential infrastructure—such as public awareness, provider education, epidemiology, research to advance diagnostics and therapies, clinical guidance, and cross-sector coordination—remains underdeveloped.
As the scale and complexity of alpha-gal syndrome have grown, so too has the response required. Alpha-gal Alliance has evolved accordingly—shifting from early efforts centered on direct awareness and education to building the institutional capacity, partnerships, and cross-sector collaboration necessary for an effective, sustained, long-term response.
Our partners & collaborators
Alpha-gal Information
Learn more about alpha-gal syndrome on the Alpha-gal Information website–
the most extensive resource on alpha-gal syndrome.
an alpha-gal Alliance project
Contact us
5614 Connecticut Ave., NW #114
Washington, DC 20015-2604
U.S.A