A Kentucky man lost his life after a swarm of bees attacked him while he was rearranging potting soil on his porch on September 18.
Local reports identified him as Michael Alford, a 59-year-old male from Harlan County, which is located in the very southeast of the state and borders Virginia.
The Kentuckian was simply shifting a sack of soil from one location near his front entrance to another, the county coroner claimed in a social media post. The swarm was nesting inside the bag for some reason and after becoming agitated, they attacked the now-deceased resident.
Alford’s relatives started doing CPR on their loved one before transporting him to the hospital, according to John W. Jones, the area’s deputy coroner.
Despite their best attempts, he passed immediately after arriving at the emergency room at around six in the evening. The coroner’s office and hospital authorities have not stated if the deceased guy had a bee sting allergy or whether the sheer number of stings he received contributed to his fate.
Although Alford’s death was tragic, it turns out that it happened much more often than one may imagine.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, there are dozens of deaths in the United States each year that are caused by insect stings. Beginning in 2011, there were reports of 788 persons dying from stings over a ten-year span.
These incidents are not just related to bees. Wasps and hornets are frequently to blame. There was never a year throughout the decade from which the CDC’s statistics was derived in which fewer than 59 persons died. The highest annual death toll recorded was 89.
It appears that more men pass away from stings compared to women, with about 84% of male fatalities. It is unknown if biological or environmental causes are to blame for the oddity.
The CDC advises washing the area after being stung by a bee, wasp, or hornet with soap and water and removing the stinger with gauze wipes or by scraping the area with a fingernail. It advises applying ice to the region to minimize swelling and not to squeeze the stinger or use tweezers.
