Tom Holland may be best known for playing Spider-Man, a superhero whose story begins with a spider bite, but off screen it is a much smaller countryside pest that appears to be causing concern: ticks.
The actor and his partner Zendaya have reportedly requested that patches of long grass be sealed off at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, where they are said to be hosting post-wedding celebrations, over fears that guests could suffer tick bites. The reported precaution has now prompted a leading doctor to urge anyone heading into the countryside this summer to take the risk seriously.
In his column for The Times, GP and regular BBC broadcaster Dr Mark Porter warned that ticks are not only linked to Lyme disease. Although uncommon, a bite can also spark a potentially life-threatening allergy that may leave people unable to eat beef, lamb or pork — and, in some cases, even dairy products.
He wrote: “Ticks are bothering me this week. Well, our dog Sid anyway, from whom I have just removed three.”
Dr Porter said Lyme disease is now widely recognised by the public, but far fewer people are aware of alpha-gal syndrome, a condition often referred to as mammalian meat allergy.
Unlike Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome is not caused by bacteria. It develops when the immune system reacts to a sugar molecule carried in the saliva of certain ticks. After a person becomes sensitised, eating red meat can trigger an allergic reaction several hours later, which can make the cause hard to identify.
Symptoms may include itchy skin rashes and abdominal pain, but in severe cases the reaction can progress to anaphylaxis, a medical emergency that can cause breathing difficulties and requires urgent treatment. Dr Porter has personal experience of the dangers posed by tick bites.
He believes he developed Lyme disease after walking in rural Portugal in 1992, when a bite was followed by the telltale “bull’s-eye” rash associated with the infection.
Fortunately, he later underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and the intravenous antibiotics he received would also have destroyed the bacteria that causes Lyme disease before it could lead to longer-term complications.
He said those antibiotics would not have prevented alpha-gal syndrome because it is caused by an allergic response rather than an infection.
Although the condition is far more common in the United States, where it is linked to the lone star tick, Dr Porter warned that the sheep and deer ticks found in Britain can also trigger the syndrome, even though UK cases remain very rare.
Anyone who develops symptoms after a tick bite should seek medical advice. Suspected alpha-gal syndrome can be confirmed with a blood test and patients at risk of severe reactions may need to carry an adrenaline pen.
Dr Porter also urged anyone who finds a tick attached to their skin to remove it as soon as possible using fine tweezers or a specialist tick-removal tool, before cleaning the area and watching for symptoms over the following weeks.
Current NICE guidance does not recommend routine “just in case” antibiotics after a tick bite. The irony of the situation was not lost on him.
“I can’t be the only one to pick up on the irony of an actor who has made millions playing a character – Spider-Man – whose superhero powers are the result of a spider bite, going the extra mile to prevent his guests from being bitten by another arachnid,” he wrote.
“And I feel duty bound to warn guests that ticks don’t only hide in long grass.”
What to do if you are bitten by a tick
- Remove the tick as quickly as possible using fine tweezers or a tick-removal device.
- Pull steadily upwards without twisting.
- Clean the bite with soap and water or antiseptic.
- Watch for flu-like symptoms or a rash over the following weeks and seek medical advice if they develop.
- Routine preventive antibiotics are not recommended after most tick bites under current NICE guidance.
