Envenomation From Flood-Related Fire Ant Rafting: A Cautionary Note

BACKGROUND: Imported fire ants aggressively sting humans, leading to a variety of local and systemic effects. Fire ants display a behavioral adaptation to survive flooding, called rafting, bringing humans into even more contact with fire ants.METHODS: To assess frequency of encounters with fire ant rafts, duck hunters on the website Duck Hunter's Forum were asked about their experiences with the ants while wading or boating in flooded areas. All members of the group received a brief explanation and asked to respond directly if they had had such an encounter. They were then asked to fill out a short 6-question survey.RESULTS: There were 2021 views of the thread about fire ant raft encounters, with 35 (1.7%) responses. Twenty-four (68.6%) said they had experienced encounters with fire ant rafts. Six responders described purposely or inadvertently physically touching the rafts with their body parts, boat, or a paddle, causing the ants to enter their boat or to climb directly onto the hunter(s). Five respondents were stung (number of stings from a few to 50), describing reactions to stings as small pustules, whelps, and pimple-like, puss-filled whelps.CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that fire ant rafts formed during flooding present a potential hazard to persons walking, wading, or boating in those areas. We suggest that these rafts are an under-appreciated health hazard. It is reasonable to assume that people in flooded areas occasionally contact these floating rafts and are stung multiple times. We provide preliminary prevention/protection recommendations for health professionals, to be shared with their patients and the general public.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. & BULL; The American Journal of Medicine (2023) 136:937-940

Automated summary

A study on duck hunters suggests that fire ant rafts formed during flooding can pose a potential hazard to individuals in flooded areas. It is recommended for healthcare professionals to provide prevention/protection recommendations to their patients and the general public.