Shark Week is still months away, but there’s a far more deadly predator that doesn’t have its own week on The Discovery Channel: the mosquito.
The little pest does have its own week going on over at Bill Gates’ blog, GatesNotes, where Bill and his team are spreading the word on just how much we have to fear from the flying insect. If you ever saw Contagion or Outbreak, then you know that a full-blown mosquito spawned epidemic could happen at some point. Until then, check out this infographic highlighting just how terrible these things really are.
Even more than human on human homicide, mosquitoes are our number one killer – though that dog statistic is pretty disturbing as well. Man’s best friend, really?
What makes the mosquito problem so large is that the bugs (250 different varieties) are found on every continent except for Antarctica, reproduce incredibly easily and carry an array of weapons like dengue fever, yellow fever, encephalitis and malaria. You might remember last year when we featured a story about the rise of mosquitoes carrying dengue fever in Florida (something that was once nearly eradicated in the U.S.)
Case in point, we should be a lot more considerate towards sharks and go after the real bad guys – mosquitoes.
