Over the course of history, mosquitoes have long been known as one of the planet's most deadly creatures, as they are notorious for transmitting diseases that have claimed the lives of millions.
However, a new contender has emerged on the scene. Sand flies, which are a mere fraction of the size of mosquitoes, have been discovered to carry a parasite responsible for leishmaniasis, a human skin infection characterized by festering ulcers that can ultimately result in the victim's demise, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These tiny flies are so minuscule that they can even pass through screens and mosquito nets, as noted by Dr. Mary Kamb from the CDC.
“Sometimes you don’t even notice that you’ve been bitten,” she says. “The parasite disables nerves in the skin, so the sores generally are not painful but tend to scar and can be disfiguring, especially if they occur on a person’s face.”
National Institutes of Health researcher Luiz Oliveira asserts that the situation has changed. Presently, although the majority of sand flies are concentrated in the southwestern states, Oliveira points out that rising temperatures could prompt these insects to shift their habitats northward in the near future.