By Terry Harris, Mar 26, 2024
The Sussex-Surry Dispatch

Last week, Wachsmann explained how the expected signature by the governor will signal the culmination of a fight by advocates for requiring reporting infections of the disease, which is conservatively estimated to affect as many as 450k people in the US.

When asked what prompted him to present the bill addressing a malady which currently is so little known, Wachsmann said that besides being “a life-altering and sometimes fatal allergy which the CDC has identified as a growing threat to public health,” the number of sufferers of AGS is spiking upward.

He then revealed that he personally suffered from the disease.

Feb 23, 2024

The Spanberger-led Recognize AGS Act would direct the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to include AGS on the Nationally Notifiable Disease List to bolster coordination and surveillance efforts critical to treating and preventing AGS. While AGS is currently excluded from the Nationally Notifiable Disease List, other tick-borne diseases — like Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, and Babesiosis — are currently on the list.

By Otto Wachsmann, Mar 11, 2024
Brunswick Times-Gazette

RICHMOND – Delegate Otto Wachsmann (R-83) released the following statement on the Senate passing HB 93.

“I am pleased that the Senate passed HB 93 with unanimous bipartisan support. Alpha-gal Syndrome is a growing problem in Virginia and needs additional understanding. Having the Virginia Department of Health create a process of reporting new cases of alpha-gal syndrome will help us better determine the prevalence and hot spot locations throughout the Commonwealth. I am most thankful for all the support for HB 93. This legislation could not have been possible without the assistance from state and national advocacy groups who helped us. I hope that this important legislation will be signed into law by Governor Youngkin,” said Delegate Wachsmann.

By Jennifer Burton, September 20, 2023

On 9/11/23 the State of Arkansas took the lead to become the 1st state to make Alpha-gal Syndrome a MANDATORY reportable condition – meaning doctors will be required to report Alpha-gal Syndrome patients. Currently the CDC & NJ are voluntarily reporting.

Vivien Leigh, August 25, 2023
NEWS CENTER Maine

While experts at the University of Maine Tick Lab say the number of Lone Star ticks found in our state is minimal, some patients want the Maine CDC to track cases of Alpha-Gal among Mainers.

By Hannah McDonald, Jan 7, 2024
News Channel 5, Nashville

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The list of reportable diseases in Tennessee was just updated, and not on it again this year is Alpha-gal Syndrome.

The strange and potentially life-threatening food sensitivity is a tick-borne disease. The Lone Star Tick carries the disease, which leads to a serious food allergy to red meat products. It’s hard to know how many people are affected, however, a recent CDC report estimates that from 2017 to 2022, there were more than 90,000 documented cases in the country.

By Brad Dokken, Sep 7, 2021
Grand Forks Herald

Little is known about the prevalence of alpha-gal syndrome in Minnesota and North Dakota, since it isn’t a reportable condition in either state. Lone Star ticks have been documented in both states, but that’s where the knowledge base ends.

“We have heard occasional reports of (alpha-gal syndrome) in Minnesota, but don’t actually have any data we could share,” said Doug Schultz, an information officer for the Minnesota Department of Health. “It’s a fairly complicated allergy, and there is definitely a lot still to learn about exactly why it happens.”