There's a new medical issue on Martha's Vineyard, and it's impacting the way people eat. It's known as "alpha-gal syndrome," and is not a tick-borne illness, but rather an allergy in response to a tick bite.

"It's skyrocketing across the island," explained Patrick Roden-Reynolds, a biologist and tick researcher on Martha's Vineyard.

The allergy can come in response to a bite from a Lone Star tick, which are common in the south but have recently shown up in large numbers on the Vineyard - due to a combination of climate and an unusually large deer population, experts say.

Public health burden

"In the last 15 years, the Lone Star tick has gone from non-existent on the island to fully abundant and everywhere," Roden-Reynolds explained. "So, the way I've been explaining it, our public heal

See Full Page