Mosquitoes kill more people yearly than crocodiles and sharks do

The deadliest animal is not a vicious predator, but a tiny speck of a living thing that irritates many Filipinos on a daily basis.

 

Philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates posted an infographic on his blog on Friday that showed mosquitoes at the top the deadliest animals list, killing 725,000 people yearly worldwide according to data from the World Health Organization.

 

This number is leagues more than the recorded deaths caused by crocodiles (1,000) and sharks (10) yearly. Mosquitoes bring diseases, such as malaria, which kill over 600,000 people every year.

 

Meanwhile, 207 million cases were recorded at the end of 2013, according to data from the World Health Organization. The organization noted, however, that this has an uncertainty range of 473,000 to 789,000.
 

"Considering their impact, you might expect mosquitoes to get more attention than they do. Sharks kill fewer than a dozen people every year and in the US they get a week dedicated to them on TV every year. Mosquitoes kill 50,000 times as many people, but if there’s a TV channel that features Mosquito Week, I haven’t heard about it," Gates said in his post.

 

 

Gates and his wife Melinda have dedicated many philanthropic endeavors to help eradicate malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. — Kim Luces/JDS/TJD, GMA News