|
The World's Most Dangerous Animal!
In the tropical rainforests of the world lurks the
Anopheles - without question the most dangerous animal on the planet!
Attacks by Anopheles kill over a million people a year! Anopheles
come out in the evening, and love nothing better than to find a nice
warm-blooded human wandering around. If they cannot find a human, they may dine
on monkeys or even birds. The amazing thing is that Anopheles are never
mentioned by travel agents, and many travelers are unaware of the risk! You may
only realize the danger after you have been attacked - and by then it may be
too late.
What makes Anopheles really nasty is that they don't kill
right away - they only suck out a little of your blood.
They may leave behind, though, a little tiny parasite bug
called Plasmodium falciparum, which swims through your blood stream. It
gets into your liver and multiplies, then the new parasites go into your
blood cells. Eventually they multiply some more and break out of your cells,
causing the cells to break. They can then get into your brain and kill
you. |
Above you see the Plasmodium falciparum within red
blood cells. Without the propper treatment this person may
die.
|
 |
You may have guessed by now, that the Anopheles is a
mosquito! This specie of mosquito spreads the parasite malaria, which causes
over a million deaths a year. On the left is a depiction of the life cycle of
the malaria parasite. When you travel in areas with malaria, you need to use
mosquito repellent, sleep under a net or in a screened room, and take medicine
to prevent malaria. |
©2001 Dr. Stephen Blythe |