2023-11-05 15:53:43
11/05/2023 at 16:52 CET
This is the small creature that causes the death of 725,000 people around the planet every year
Movies like ‘Jaws’ and others referring to fearsome animals with sharp teeth have propagated the image of some species as enemies of human beings. In fact, a 2015 survey by the Ipsos agency revealed that about half of Americans declared themselves “absolutely terrified” of sharks. However, according to data from the Florida Museum of Natural History, in 2021 there were only 11 shark deaths worldwide. A person is more likely to die from a coconut falling on their head than from a shark attack.according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
So which species causes the most victims among humans? The animal that causes the most deaths is another much smaller, fragile and apparently irrelevant one: the mosquito. These insects can transmit potentially fatal diseases such as malaria and dengue, and the World Health Organization estimates that Mosquitoes that transmit these diseases kill 725,000 people a yearaccording to USA Today.
Mosquitoes transmit many dangerous diseases, such as chikungunya, dengue, lymphatic filariasis, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, Zika, malaria, Japanese encephalitis and West Nile fever, reports the WHO. Other insects, such as fleas, lice, and ticks, also transmit similar diseases.
Mosquitoes are the animals that kill the most people
| Pixabay
Deaths from mosquitoes are more frequent in some regions than in others. For example, African countries account for about 96% of malaria deaths, according to the WHO. And although these are eminently tropical diseases, climate change and global warming are gradually driving them towards southern Europe. Spain, for example, is a place where the transmission of these diseases will become increasingly common.as the Peninsula becomes a more favorable habitat for these mosquitoes.
However, there are other animals that stand out when it comes to causing fatalities in humans. According to the ranking published by Discover Wildlife, these would be the main ones:
Freshwater snails: 200,000 deaths per year Saw-scaled viper: 138,000 deaths per year Miscellaneous insects: 10,000 deaths per year Scorpions: 2,600 deaths per year Roundworms Ascaris: 2,500 deaths per year Saltwater crocodiles: 1,000 deaths per year Elephants: 500 deaths per year Hippos: 500 deaths per year
Now, USA Today, commenting on this fact, asks the question: Do humans kill more than mosquitoes?
Bill Gates’ blog recently published a graph showing that humans kill 475,000 humans a year, while mosquitoes kill 725,000. This publication unleashed a strong controversy on networks, which led to a verification of the facts by the US information portal Vox, which came to the conclusion that humans should occupy first place in such a regrettable ranking.
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