Insects do not need to have large sizes, sharp fangs or sharp claws to be lethal to humans

The mysterious World (TMW) website published the Top 10 of the most lethal insects in the world. Among them, there are the Fire Ant with more than 285 species on the planet, the giant Japanese Hornet that grows up to a size of 2 inches (5 cm) and up to 40 deaths per year have been recorded by this type of insect, and the native tsetse fly of Africa, classified as the deadliest bite and the killer bee that can persecute its victims for more than 1 mile and Performs repetitive bites.

Leer en español: ¡No se deje engañar por su tamaño! Los insectos pueden ser los animales más letales

In this list, there are also insects with which every day the human being lives as fleas and mosquitoes. The latter being the most dangerous insect species on earth. This is because both species are carriers of infections.

Mosquitoes are capable of transmitting different diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, encephalitis, and malaria, which according to WHO causes the death of a child every 30 seconds and reports 500 cases a year.

Insects in Latin America

In Latin America, there are two of the insects that are part of TMW Top 10. The first of these is the bullet ant, found in the jungles of Nicaragua and Paraguay. It is the largest ant species in the world. This insect has that name, since its bite is so painful that it resembles the pain of a bullet impact, being 30 times more painful than a Wasp bite.

The other insect is the Trypanosoma cruzi also known as Kissing Bug , insect that according to Planet Deadly, is part of the 10 most dangerous animals in the world. Among which are highly lethal species such as the Jaws, the Jaguar and the Golden Frog native to the Colombian jungles.

Read also: The most committed parents of nature

Trypanosomes are a class of leeches that are known to be the most dangerous animal in South America to carry the kiss virus. This is the cause of more deaths than those attributed to malaria with a balance of 7,000 per year.

According to the WHO, Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is the disease that these parasites produce. It is transmitted after intense rubbing in the feces or urine that deposit in the bite, which is usually done in the eyes or mouth, hence its name Kissing bug .

This organization also reports that in the world there are between 6 to 7 million people infected with this disease and it focuses especially on endemic areas of 21 countries in Latin America. Additionally, the estimated annual cost in 2008 in Colombia for the treatment of this disease was approximately US $267 million.

Fun facts

• According to Planet deadly, American Trypanosomiasis can cause death or persist for a lifetime in the patient. In the second case, the disease generates potentially fatal cardiac and neurological problems in 30% of patients.
• The WHO reports that, due to the migration of the last decades throughout the world, Chagas disease is not only found in Latin America but also in the United States, Canada, several European countries, and some of the western Pacific.

LatinAmerican Post | Camila Peñaloza Quimbay

Translated from "¡No se deje engañar por su tamaño! Los insectos pueden ser los animales más letales"