 Minton was the only person in the car and had passed away. A K-State professor contracted life-threatening meat allergy from a tick. The syndrome that Professor McCornack contracted is called alpha-gal syndrome, or AGS for short. When a tick bites you, its saliva can contain a sugar molecule called agal. When agal enters the bloodstream, it can cause an immune response. For many, it means avoiding meat products. I'm Stephanie Austin.