“It’s not been a tick typically we find in Michigan. This is the first one found confirmed here.”
Ottawa County Health Officer Adelin Hambley says a bite from a Lone Star Tick make a person allergic to red meat and some dairy products.
“The Lone Star Tick is the tick that causes that Alpha Gal Syndrome which is that red meat allergy and some other diseases as well.”
Hambley says a family brought the tick to the health department after finding it crawling on a boy’s leg.
“It was not attached but it was crawling on their child’s leg and the state has confirmed it was a Lone Star Tick.”
Because the Lone Star Tick is not usually found in Michigan, the health department wants to know where this one came from and are there any more in the county.
“It was in west olive area near Kirk Park and so we are currently doing tick drags as part of the tick and mosquito surveillance so we can get a better idea of what might be going on. Its concerning.”
