A healthy New Jersey man died hours after eating a beef hamburger due to a severe allergic reaction.[1][2] Doctors have confirmed the first known fatal case of alpha-gal syndrome, a rare red meat allergy caused by the bite of the Lone Star tick.[1][2] This tick carries the alpha-gal sugar found in mammalian meat such as beef, pork or lamb.[1][2][5] Allergy symptoms, such as rash, nausea, vomiting or anaphylaxis, appear with a delay of several hours after eating meat.[1][2][4] The case was revealed by tests after the death of the patient.[1] Scientists warn doctors to be alert for patients with unexpected abdominal pain after eating meat in areas with Lone Star ticks.[1][2] The population of these ticks increases in association with the breeding deer, their main hosts.[1] Lone Star ticks are found mainly in the southeastern USA and are not found in Slovakia.[1]