JIST

Abstract

Deaths involving honeybee stings are not very common. Deaths which do occur from bee stings, usually involve a single or a few stings, and fatality is most commonly the result of anaphylaxis. Mass envenomation by a swarm of bees, wherein a person may be stung hundreds of times is quite rare. In the few cases that have been re-ported in literature, death has occurred due to toxaemia and renal failure, rather than allergic anaphylaxis. This case report pertains to a young male who was brought dead to the hospital with a history of having been at-tacked by a swarm of wild honey bees. At autopsy, 1506 separate bee sting marks with stingers in situ could be located over the entire body, mostly those areas that were not covered by clothes. Autopsy revealed only general-ized visceral congestion.