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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

CP14: Top Rated Contributed Abstracts 15 min talks
Location: Plenary Lecture Theatre
Session Chair: Danielle Stanisic, Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, Griffith University

Presentation 1

Tick-Induced Mammalian Meat Allergy in Australia: National Prevalence and Geographic Distribution from Laboratory Surveillance, 2014-2024

Alexander W. Gofton^1,2, Emily Smith^1,3,4, Paul Campbell⁵, Carl Kennedy⁶, Karl Baumgart⁷, Lucinda Wallman⁸, Stephen C. Barker⁹, Sheryl van Nunen^2,10,11, Andrew A. Walker^3,4

1: CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Brisbane, Australia; 2: TiARA (Tick-induced Allergies Research and Awareness), Australia; 3: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; 4: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; 5: QML Pathology, Brisbane, Australia; 6: Sullivan & Nicolaides Pathology, Brisbane, Australia; 7: Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology, Sydney, Australia; 8: Laverty Pathology, Sydney, Australia; 9: School of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; 10: National Allergy Centre of Excellence, Australia; 11: Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Mammalian meat allergy (MMA) is an IgE-mediated allergic condition triggered by sensitisation to galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-Gal) following tick bite. First described in Australia in 2007, MMA is now recognised globally, yet its national burden in Australia has never been systematically characterised. We addressed this gap by analysing 11 years of national α-Gal specific IgE testing data (2014–2024), encompassing over 16,000 tests from 14,000 individuals. Our findings reveal MMA as a substantial and rapidly growing health concern, with case detection increasing 22% annually since 2020. The geographic distribution of cases closely mirrors the range of Ixodes holocyclus, with extreme spatial clustering within this endemic zone: just nine discrete regions account for over half od the national MMA disease burden. This tight coupling between vector ecology and disease distribution underscores the central role of I. holocyclus in driving MMA in Australia, with only minor contributions from other tick species. Among serially tested patients, α-Gal specific IgE levels declined over time in the vast majority of individuals, supporting the utility of repeat testing for clinical monitoring. This study provides the first comprehensive national epidemiological assessment of MMA in Australia and establishes baseline metrics for ongoing surveillance of this emerging tick-borne allergic condition.