Killed by a tick: The tragic death of 16-year-old Jeremy Webb

Few things are more typically Australian than a snag on the barbecue, somewhere out in the bush.

For an increasing number of people though, this simple joy could be a date with death.

It's because of a tiny creature called the eastern paralysis tick.

As Adam Hegarty reports, anyone who gets bitten by one runs the risk of contracting a largely unknown condition called mammalian meat allergy.

For people who get it, and are diagnosed, the consequences mean they can't eat red meat or dairy products.

For those who get it but don't know they have it, the consequences can be fatal.

In February, Australia recorded its first death from MMA.

It's been nearly four years since Myfanwy and Jonathan Webb's only son died.

"We had no idea that it's as dangerous as a brown snake, Mrs Webb said.

"If we'd known, my son would still be here today. I'm 100 per cent sure of that," Mr Webb said.

Jeremy was five when his family moved to their home on the Central Coast.

An outdoorsy kid, he loved being in the bush and over the years he spent hours riding his bike and camping with family and friends.

But it's also how he started getting bitten by ticks "every week", according to his mother.

"I thought that was what it was making him sick but I didn't realise that could be what was going to kill him," she said.

By the age of 10 Jeremy's parents started to notice he would become unwell after eating red meat or pork.

The Webbs had heard of mammalian meat allergy, also commonly known as alpha gal syndrome, but they didn't know it could be deadly or that it could be triggered by consuming other products derived from a mammal, such as dairy or gelatine.

So when Jeremy's strange symptoms persisted despite him avoiding red meat and pork, his parents assumed it was his asthma.

"The problem is when your kid has nocturnal asthma, you don't know the difference and that was certainly the case for us because I do remember once Jeremy woke up with asthma and we were giving him his Ventolin and he said, 'It's not working'," Mr Webb said.

In the years leading up to Jeremy's death he was admitted to Gosford Hospital twice with symptoms of anaphylaxis.

But alarmingly on both occasions that was overlooked. Instead, doctors said the likely culprit was his asthma and Jeremy was discharged without further investigation.

They were horrible errors that had a fatal consequence.

Unaware of how at-risk his son was, on June 10, 2022, Mr Webb dropped Jeremy off to go camping with mates.

Tragically it would be the last time he would see his 16-year-old boy alive.

"They had a fire, as they always do, and I think one of his friends had some sausages," Jeremy said.

The teenagers cooked the snags and, as kids do, also toasted marshmallows.

But their high gelatine content, along with the red meat, would prove to be a lethal combination for Jeremy.

A few hours later Jeremy began to feel violently unwell and vomited.

Struggling to breathe he ran to get help.

"His friends ran after him, and um, he stopped breathing, and his friends, um, did CPR on him and kept him alive until the paramedics got there," Mr Webb said.

Jeremy was rushed to Gosford Hospital but couldn't be resuscitated.

His cause of death stated the teen had died from asthma, but by this stage his parents suspected it was something much more sinister.

The family went searching for answers and found Professor Sheryl van Nunen, an immunologist and allergy physician.

"The forensic pathologist had put aside some blood from Jeremy, and that was tested, and we were able to make the diagnosis of mammalian meat allergy post-mortem," she said.

In February, the NSW Deputy State Coroner made a landmark finding.

Jeremy' cause of death wasn't asthma but anaphylaxis caused by the mammalian meat allergy.

Mr Webb urged Aussies to take tick bites seriously.

"Treat it seriously. This MMA is, is fatal, we know that," he said.

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