Waking at 2 a.m. with hives and dizziness after a steak dinner isn’t food poisoning—it could be alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-triggered allergy that turns red meat into a health hazard. Cases have climbed so fast that Virginia began mandatory reporting on 1 July 2025. While labs race for a Lyme vaccine, no shot exists for alpha-gal, leaving yard vigilance as your best defense.