What’s the greatest threat to humanity right now? Giving you a moment to account for all of the political jokes you can think of, it isn’t anything new and it isn’t any politician, though we are talking about bloodsuckers. Earlier this week we were made aware by the Florida Department of Health the that deadly EEE virus was detected in Orange County Florida. Mosquito warnings went out across the state. Most of us don’t consider how deadly they are and historically have been. Take these eye-opening numbers into account.
- 100 trillion – the number of mosquitoes worldwide
- 54 billion – the estimated number of humans killed by mosquitoes throughout history
- 700,000 – the number of people still killed by mosquitoes annually
In other words, hearing that a mosquito is carrying a deadly virus sounds like a stretch until it isn’t. Yes, the majority of those deaths are in under-developed countries but we have deaths in the US every year. Of course, in South Florida, we have a disproportionate number of them and rain for a breeding opportunity. That’s why we should take the recommendations to mind when it comes to mosquitoes and not just when we have a Zika scare. With the EEE virus already in our state, it's possible we’ve got another mass murderer lurking in the standing water around your home.
Imagine if over 700,000 murders were happening per year. How would we react? It’s worth taking the state’s warning seriously while we hope that the newer mosquitoes control efforts prove to be effective.
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