Most Dangerous Animal? Hint: They Make Honey

Bees are deadly.

More people in the United States are killed by them than by any other animal - and some of those people may not be getting the right emergency room treatment.

A study published in the September issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology suggests that most insect sting victims, even those with potentially fatal reactions, are undertreated in hospitals and discharged without the proper follow-up.

The researchers reviewed the charts of 617 patients with insect sting allergies treated at 15 hospital emergency rooms in the United States and Canada. Almost one-third of patients had anaphylactic reactions, the more severe, multisystem responses that can be fatal.

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