A Pictou County woman says she is afraid to leave her house after being diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome, a rare allergic reaction to meat and dairy linked to lone star tick bites.

Melissa Baines told CBC's Maritime Noon she was preparing soil in her garden in McLellans Brook, N.S., in May when she felt what she thought was a horsefly bite on her shoulder. Two weeks later, she found a tick attached to the spot.

"I reached around and got a hold of him ... and I ran into the bathroom and flushed …