This tick’s bite could become the Hamptons’ hottest new health craze.
The tiny terror — known as the Lone Star tick — causes the humans it nips to turn vegetarian by making them allergic to red meat.
Doctors say the creepy creature has recently started showing up on Long Island in force — and that more than 200 cases of people suffering from the tick’s bite have been recorded.
“I don’t eat hamburgers or red meat anymore. Now I only eat fish and chicken,” said Louise Danzig, a 63-year-old retired nurse from Montauk, who is among the victims.
Though her diet may seem healthier, the effects of the meat allergy are terrifying.
“It was scary,” she said, describing what happened when she first ingested red meat after being bitten. “My lips and tongue were swollen and I couldn’t breathe. It was truly life-threatening.”
She doesn’t know if she’ll ever eat beef again — and she is missing some of her favorite foods.
“As crazy as it sounds, there’s one type of French onion soup with beef broth that I really miss,” she said. “And I do miss a good filet.”
Roughly the size of a deer tick, the Lone Star tick carries alpha-gal, a sugar that humans don’t have but which is found in red meat.
Alpha-gal triggers an immune-system response when the victim eats red meat, causing swelling, hives and loss of breath.
Danzig was likely bitten while spending time at the beach last summer — but she didn’t notice symptoms until she ate a hamburger, she said.
The tiny terror — known as the Lone Star tick — causes the humans it nips to turn vegetarian by making them allergic to red meat.
“I went out to dinner before a play and . . . I woke up at midnight and my hands felt like they were burning,” said Danzig. “The EMTs knew it what it was. They are getting savvy to it around here because they have seen so many cases.”
Dr. Erin McGintee, an allergy specialist on eastern Long Island, has seen nearly 200 cases over the last three years.
“It is bizarre. It goes against almost anything I’ve ever learned as an allergist,” she said.
Named after Texas — the home of famous beef barbecue — the tick originated in the southern part of the county.
Doctors don’t know if the allergy is permanent — but Danzig plans to try to ease herself back onto red meat, she said.
“I may start trying a little bit here and there,” she said. “But I’m certainly not gonna go for a hamburger.”