The deadliest animal in the whole world

Dar es Salaam. Here is the thing, you might hesitate to refer to a mosquito as an animal—but it is. Organisms belong to either the Animal or Plant Kingdom. Mosquitoes, which are in the class of insects, belong to the animal kingdom. So, they are essentially animals.

A mosquito’s ability to carry and spread diseases in humans causes millions of deaths every year. This makes them the deadliest animals in the world.

In 2015 malaria alone caused 438 000 deaths, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

But it’s not about Malaria alone. The worldwide incidence of dengue is reportedly increasing. WHO figures show it has risen 30-fold in the past 30 years, and more countries are reporting their first outbreaks of the disease.

According to the World Billionaire philanthropist, Bill Gates, referring to the mosquito as most dangerous, depends on how you define the word, “dangerous”.

He queries in an article he wrote in his blog ‘gatesnotes.com’, saying: “What would you say is the most dangerous animal on Earth? Sharks? Snakes? Humans?

In his view, you’re not even close. He says, “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,’’ he adds. Viruses that cause Zika fever, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever are all transmitted to humans by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

More than half of the world’s population lives in areas where this mosquito species is present, WHO demographic mapping shows.

Sustained mosquito control efforts are important to prevent outbreaks from these diseases.

There are several different types of mosquitoes and some have the ability to carry many different diseases.

There are more than 2,500 species of mosquito, and mosquitoes are found in every region of the world except Antarctica, according to National Geographic.

During the peak breeding seasons, they outnumber every other animal on Earth, except termites and ants. They were responsible for tens of thousands of deaths during the construction of the Panama Canal.

And they affect population patterns on a grand scale: In many malarial zones, the disease drives people inland and away from the coast, where the climate is more welcoming to mosquitoes.

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 U.S. 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,’’ says Bill Gates.