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The recent interest in ticks and tick-associated diseases is justified by the seriousness of some of these diseases, and by proven changes in the distribution of tick populations due to socio-economic and environmental changes. In Europe, ticks are the main vectors of importance for human and animal health, and are responsible for transmitting viruses, bacteria and parasites. Lyme disease alone crystallises the majority of tick-related concerns, and is the subject of both societal and scientific debate. Faced with a multitude of sometimes alarmist information about the risk of contracting this disease, it is essential to think rationally and scientifically. Knowing the biology of ticks and the ways in which they may or may not transmit infectious agents is an essential asset in protecting against them.

Ticks transmit pathogens responsible for major diseases in humans, such as Lyme disease. However, tick bites can also cause an allergy to red meat, known as "alpha-gal syndrome". Unlike most food allergies, in which symptoms appear within minutes of eating the allergen, allergic reactions linked to alpha-gal syndrome are delayed. Symptoms may appear four to six hours after a meal containing red meat. The first mention of the association between tick bites and red meat allergy dates back to 2007, when the Australian Sheryl van Nunen described 24 cases of meat allergy associated with tick bites. In 2009, Thomas Platts-Mills identified the molecule responsible for these severe allergic reactions. He discovered that patients allergic to red meat had specific IgE class antibodies to a complex sugar called galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal for short).

PhD topic: Aptamers, new tools for studying and detecting Anaplasma phagocytophilum, a strict intracellular zoonotic bacterium.