Last week Bill Gates launched "Mosquito Week" on his blog, gatesnotes, arguing that mosquitoes kill more humans annually than any other animal.
What would you say is the most dangerous animal on Earth? Sharks? Snakes? Humans? Of course the answer depends on how you define dangerous. Personally I’ve had a thing about sharks since the first time I saw Jaws. But if you’re judging by how many people are killed by an animal every year, then the answer isn’t any of the above. It’s mosquitoes. When it comes to killing humans, no other animal even comes close.
Andrew Sullivan's blog, The Dish, provides a succinct summary of counter arguments -- noting that mosquitoes are only deadly because of the pathogens that they transmit to people. Using this logic, people are much more deadly than mosquitoes, because we transmit many nasty pathogens (e.g., HIV. TB) directly to each other.
What would you say is the most dangerous animal on Earth? Sharks? Snakes? Humans? Of course the answer depends on how you define dangerous. Personally I’ve had a thing about sharks since the first time I saw Jaws. But if you’re judging by how many people are killed by an animal every year, then the answer isn’t any of the above. It’s mosquitoes. When it comes to killing humans, no other animal even comes close.
Andrew Sullivan's blog, The Dish, provides a succinct summary of counter arguments -- noting that mosquitoes are only deadly because of the pathogens that they transmit to people. Using this logic, people are much more deadly than mosquitoes, because we transmit many nasty pathogens (e.g., HIV. TB) directly to each other.
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