TINY TERRORS
When it comes to identifying the UK's deadliest, it is the tiny invertebrates that may lay most claim to the title.
One of the UK's top man-killers can only be seen with a microscope.
Around 20% of the UK's population is allergic to the droppings of dust mites, according to the National Health Service, triggering conditions such as asthma.
For the 90% of UK asthma sufferers that identify dust mites as a trigger for their attacks, these microscopic creatures are potentially a big problem.
The charity Asthma UK reports 1,204 deaths from asthma in the UK in 2008, though it is difficult to directly attribute these to dust mites because attacks can be triggered by a number of irritants.
 | Tick safety  |
Another tiny harbinger of death is the tick.
Ticks feed on the blood of mammals, birds and even reptiles and can spread diseases between their hosts.
For humans, one of the most serious is Lyme disease.
There were 1472 cases of Lyme disease last year in the UK with up to a further 2000 thought to go unnoticed, due to difficulties diagnosing the disease.
Left untreated, Lyme disease can cause permanent disability. In recent years two suicides have been associated with the disease."
No comments:
Post a Comment