When Missouri Rep. Matthew Overcast first introduced legislation requiring state officials to track an emerging tick-borne condition, he had just confirmed it caused the severe rashes, stomach pain and migraines his now-12-year-old daughter experienced for years.
Now a year later — with his wife, 3- and 5-year-olds, and an aunt also having been diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome — the Republican from a rural area near the Lake of the Ozarks is trying again to get his bill passed. This time he is pointing to his own family’s experience as an example of how quickly alpha-gal syndrome is transforming communities like his.
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