Tragically, a woman from Central Georgia lost her life over the weekend due to a severe allergic reaction resulting from inadvertently stepping on a fire ant mound at her residence, as reported by her family.
From USA Today:
Chad Johnson, an investigator with the coroner's office told USA TODAY the office conducted an autopsy on Weed Monday.
Her cause of death and manner of death, Johnson said, are pending.
Weed's family could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY, but loved ones told local outlet WSB said she died at her home in Lawrenceville, about 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
According to her family, Weed, who is survived by a teenage son, had a severe allergic reaction to the fire ants and she died before she could get to her medicine.
Fire ants clamp onto their victims with strong jaws and repeatedly inject venom into a human with their stingers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Symptoms of the sting include burning sensations, itches and rashes.
Fire ants are usually found in the southern region of the U.S. and in places as far north as Tennessee, said Wizzie Brown, a pest management specialist at Texas A&M University. While they are a year-round species, they tend to be more prevalent in the spring and fall.
Well, this incident has definitely sparked a new fear for me.
I mean, who really knows if they're allergic to an insect sting until it actually happens, right?
So personally, I'll be steering clear of fire ants for the foreseeable future.
