
Killer Asian needle ants are invading the US
An invasive species of ants have been found in at least 20 US states and are spreading across the country.
Asian needle ants, also known as brachyponera chinensis, have a potentially deadly sting.
'It injects venom that can harm you,' University of Georgia professor of urban etymology, Dan Suiter, said recently.
'Its sting can be life-threatening.'
People who are vulnerable to ant and bee stings could go into anaphylactic shock if bitten by Asian needle ants.
'If you suffer from anaphylaxis, you should really know what this ant looks like,' Sutter said.
Their populations peak yearly in July and August.
Asian needle ants are native to China, Japan and the Koreas.
Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that can be life-threatening, and can happen within seconds of a sting, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Toddler dies after 'drunk dad left her in a hot car for nine hours'
MORE: Trump likens LA protests to foreign 'invasion' amid attempt to block him from using troops
MORE: Popular US remedy recalled over 'life-threatening fungi' with children most at risk

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Metro
3 hours ago
- Metro
Missing Brit who vanished on holiday is found on life support in hospital
A British tourist who vanished on a night out in Thailand has been found on life support in a hospital after emergency brain surgery. Ashton Jones, 29, went on a last-minute trip to Bangkok but was separated from his friends on a night out. Five days after Ashton arrived in Thailand to meet up with a lifelong friend, his family were told he was missing after a night out on the town. His friends spent hours searching for Ashton after he went missing from the nightclub, before finding him in the hospital. Medics believe he was attacked. Ashton, who has epilepsy, is now fighting for his life after emergency brain surgery, 6,000 miles away from home. His family are struggling to get him back home in Wales, as the 29-year-old didn't take out travel insurance for his last-minute trip. His worried grandmother, Beverley Walker, of Cwmbran, Gwent, is desperately trying to raise money to pay for his medical care. Beverley said: 'I am deeply concerned that without immediate financial or diplomatic assistance, my grandson may not survive. 'The emotional toll on our family is immense. We are heartbroken and fearful, watching from afar while Ashton suffers without the care he urgently requires.' A week after Ashton went into the hospital on June 3, medical workers at Chonburi hospital attempted to wake him up, which worked, but he has a long way to go. Beverley added: 'He's bed-bound and suffering with fits, cannot talk, eat or drink and isn't aware. 'We all, as a family, are worried sick with fear for Ashton and how we can bring him home.' But Ashton's treatment and funding to bring him to the UK will cost the family thousands. The family have set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise £50,000 to help cover medical expenses and to bring him home. So far, over £3,000 has been raised by 113 donors since the fundraiser was launched a day ago. More Trending Beverley said: 'The hospital in Thailand is asking for the cost of his ongoing treatment, which is far beyond what our family can afford. 'In the meantime, Ashton's condition continues to deteriorate, and it feels as though we are being left helpless as time runs out. 'We have already put together life savings for medical bills, flights, travel, and accommodation to be with him, but would never be able to afford to get him home to better health care and his family.' A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are supporting a British man who has been hospitalised in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: British couple 'tried to smuggle £1,000,000 of cannabis into UK from Thailand' MORE: 'I'm a reformed drug smuggler – this is how mules will be feeling on flights' MORE: British woman found dead on Thai beach after swimming following night of drinking


NBC News
14 hours ago
- NBC News
U.S.-born Asian Americans no longer the healthiest group among older adults
For the first time in two decades, older Asian Americans are no longer the healthiest U.S.-born aging racial group with the lowest rates of disability, according to a study published last month in the Journals of Gerontology. The report focused on adults aged 50 and older, and used disability prevalence as an indicator for overall health. The paper shows that while disability rates have decreased among aging adults in every racial group, it's remained unchanged among U.S.-born Asian Americans. The findings suggest that one contributor to the stagnating disability rate is income inequality, which has impacted Asian Americans more than any other group in recent years. Previous research had shown that both foreign-born and U.S.-born Asian older adults had lower mortality and disability rates than their counterparts in other racial groups. According to the new report, non-Hispanic white Americans have overtaken Asians Americans as the healthiest U.S.-born population, with the lowest disability prevalence. 'This study shows that the 'model minority' stereotype is wrong about the overall experience of U.S.-born older Asians in terms of health,' said lead author Leafia Ye, an assistant sociology professor at the University of Toronto. The report is the first to focus solely on the health of U.S.-born Asians, a group that experts say has been understudied due to its limited population size. The study drew on data from the American Community Survey, which has a sample size of more than 18 million U.S.-born adults aged 50 and older. The sample size for U.S.-born Asians is roughly 116,000, Ye said. The study authors defined disability as any chronic physical or mental health condition that limits an older adult's self-care or independent living capacity, which includes carrying out tasks like eating, bathing and grocery-shopping without assistance. Two decades ago, just 5.5% of U.S.-born Asian elders had trouble living independently — compared with 7% of white and 14% of Black elders. From 2005 to 2022, the report found, disability rates fell by at least 2% among U.S.-born non-Hispanic white, Black, Hispanic and Indigenous populations, as well as all foreign-born groups. (Black older adults experienced the largest drop from 14% to 10%.) Among native-born older Asian Americans, however, the rate has stayed at 5.5%. Ye said the trends preceded the Covid-19 pandemic, so it's unlikely that rising anti-Asian racism was a key risk factor. 'What's striking about this study is that U.S.-born Asians are the only group that hasn't experienced improved outcomes,' said Mansha Mirza, principal investigator at the Aging Services Inclusive of Asian American Networks, a national technical assistance and resource development center focused on Asian Americans older adults. Mirza was not involved with the new study. The trend could be attributed to the fact that U.S.-born Asians 'are more assimilated into the American way of life,' Mirza said, while foreign-born Asians were more likely to 'retain practices from their home countries related to nutrition and diet.' Disability prevalence varies across the racial group. Cognitive disability is more prevalent in Vietnamese, Filipino and Japanese older adults, according to a 2024 paper in Innovation in Aging. For self-care disability, on the other hand, Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino and Indian older adults have a higher prevalence. In the past, older Asian Americans have had better health outcomes than other groups because the large majority were foreign-born, Ye said. People with poorer health and lower socioeconomic status were less likely to resettle in another country, she said, so Asian immigrants became a 'very positively selected' group that's 'healthier and more successful economically compared with both the source and the destination populations.' By contrast, Ye said, U.S.-born Asians were immediately exposed to the country's cultural and political realities. Socioeconomic status has a particularly strong influence on health outcomes, as college-educated older Asian Americans saw a slight decline in disability, while those without a degree saw an increase. While the data didn't contain mental health measures, like loneliness and anxiety, Ye said it's possible that these conditions could have also contributed to stagnating health outcomes. 'In a way,' Ye said, 'U.S.-born Asians are both less selected and more exposed throughout their lifetime.' Mirza said a point of further study could be desegregated research on the impact of migration history on health outcomes. First-generation Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees, for example, survived war, famine and genocide. Research has shown that exposure to these adverse conditions could contribute to 'altered diets and physiological capacity' in their U.S.-born children, who are now advancing in age, Mirza said. Mirza also emphasized a need to study the impact of social isolation on Asian seniors, which she said is gradually emerging as a social determinant of health as much as smoking and alcohol use. 'We need to see what social isolation looks like for foreign-born Asians Americans and U.S.-born Asians Americans,' she said, 'and the extent to which social ties are preserved within these groups.'


Metro
20 hours ago
- Metro
Hospital 'goes into lockdown' after suspicious package is found
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A major hospital is reportedly in lockdown after a package containing a 'suspicious substance' was found. Staff at Leeds General Infirmary found the package and reported it to West Yorkshire Police at 11am today. Specialist police officers are on the ground as they try to identify the substance in the package, which has now been contained. A cordon is in place around a car park near to the hospital and a green tent has been erected on hospital grounds. A significant emergency response is underway at Leeds General Infirmary, with two fire engines, two ambulance and a number of police officers at the scene. A force spokesperson told Leeds Live: 'At 11.02am today (Wednesday), police received a report of a small package containing a suspicious substance which had been opened by staff at Leeds General Infirmary. 'Specialist officers have been deployed to the location to identify the substance, which has been contained on site. There is not believed to be any wider risk at present.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Killer Asian needle ants are invading the US MORE: Popular US remedy recalled over 'life-threatening fungi' with children most at risk MORE: Costco and Amazon fitness product sold almost 4,000,000 times recalled over broken bones