Alpha-gal syndrome cases on Martha’s Vineyard continued to rise in 2025, with the number of positive tests for the red meat allergy in the first 11 months of the year nearly totaling the last five years combined. 

Researchers say that a New Jersey man’s death on the mainland last year is the first confirmed fatality caused by a tick-borne syndrome that has had a rapid rise on Martha’s Vineyard. 

Island doctors, researchers and biologists are redoubling tick education efforts amid the growing concerns about the disease-carrying arachnids.

Researchers from across New England have been surveying thousands of people and studying lawns in search of one thing: is tick control helping? 

As alpha-gal syndrome rapidly spreads across the Vineyard, Island public health officials are hoping to gauge the public’s concern over the meat allergy and gather important information that could aid in future research.

In 2020, the hospital recorded just two confirmed cases of alpha-gal sensitivity. By 2022, the number had jumped to 77. This year, as of Sept. 30, the hospital had 365 positive cases.