(RepublicanNews.org) – A man close to retirement age in Kentucky died on September 18th after a group of bees laid into him while he was moving potting soil around on his porch. The individual has been identified only as a 59-year-old male from Harlan County, an area in the extreme southeastern portion of the state that borders Virginia.
According to a social media post from the local coroner, the Kentuckian was guilty of nothing more than moving a bag of soil from point to point not far from his front door. For reasons unknown, the swarm in question was nesting inside the bag. Once they were disturbed, they went after the now-deceased resident.
John W. Jones, the area’s Deputy Coroner, said the man’s family began CPR on their loved one before rushing him to the hospital. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and he died shortly after arriving at the emergency room around 6:00 p.m. Neither the coroner’s office nor hospital administrators have indicated if the man in question was allergic to bee stings, or if the sheer quantity of stings he suffered led to his death.
Despite the tragic nature of the man’s death, how he died appears to be far more common than one might think. Data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that deaths related to insect stings in the United States take place by the dozens each year. Over a 10-year period beginning in 2011, 788 people were reported to have been killed in stinging incidents.
Those occurrences are not limited to bees. Hornets and wasps are the culprits in many cases. During the decade from which the CDC’s data is drawn, there was never a year in which fewer than 59 people were killed. The highest number of yearly deaths reported was 89.
Men appear to die from stinging in higher numbers than women. About 84% of deaths occur in males. It is not known if the anomaly is due to biological or environmental factors.
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