
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 12, 1990                   TAG: 9007120568
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DHAKA, BANGLADESH                                LENGTH: Short

KILLER BUGS LEAVE 30 DEAD IN BANGLADESH

A mysterious, diamond-shaped insect whose sting can kill within four hours has claimed the lives of at least 30 people and attacked hundreds of others in the past month, doctors and newspapers said today.

Panic-stricken villagers are destroying the bushy, fast-growing plants that harbor the insects, which have 30 tiny stingers.

This could create more problems because the ipomoea crassicarlis plant's roots help check soil erosion in frequently flooded Bangladesh. The plant usually grows up to 10 feet but has no food value.

A government-owned newspaper, Dainik Bangla, said the insect that feeds on the plant's leaves has killed at least 30 people across the country. Many of the victims were children who played in the bushes.

Dozens of the bugs swarm into each plant.

"A victim may die within four hours of the attack if not properly treated," Dr. Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin said.

Survivors have responded to injections of oradixon, followed by three days of antihistamine tablets, doctors at the hospital said.

Scientists in the government's Agriculture Department are trying to determine the insects' species and origin. Newspapers have suggested it arrived from Africa via India.

by CNB