Man is only the second deadliest animal

Man is only the second deadliest animal

Bill Gates is best known as the founder of Microsoft, but he's been making waves in the last year or so as a blogger writing about his philanthropic work on third-world economic development and public health challenges.

Gates' latest post highlights the challenges to global public health posed by the mosquito. It is the deadliest animal, at least in terms of how many people are killed by an animal every year, and it's way, way, way ahead of other deadlier-looking and more widely feared candidates like sharks, snakes, lions, and wolves. Even humans — who have some of the most powerful killing technologies, like guns, bombs, and chemical weapons — are below the mosquito:

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John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.