Allergic reaction kills state's first known fire-ant victim

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A 30-year-old Virginia Beach man died last week after being stung by fire ants.

The ants, known for their painful sting, hide in the soil and in potted plants and other nursery stock that are brought into the state.

Bradley Windsor Johnson died Thursday after he was stung by the ants while he was working at home. Officials said Mr. Johnson was highly allergic and called 911. He died despite receiving injections of epinephrine, which is used to treat severe allergic reactions.

"Because of his allergies, he called the emergency number as soon as he had been bitten," said Frank Fulgham, program manager of the Plant and Pest Services office with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "The average person is just not that allergic."

The case is the first known death in Virginia attributed to fire-ant stings, Mr. Fulgham said.

Virginia is one of 14 states where fire ants are found, officials said yesterday.

"They come into Virginia by imported goods, often in malls and construction sites," he said. "We inform contractors to watch for them."

The tiny but aggressively defensive insects are most notorious for their sting, and they pose a danger to those who, like Mr. Johnson, are highly allergic to their venom. About 100 people have died after being stung by the ants since the ants were imported to the U.S. in the 1930s.

The first red-ant infestation of Virginia was found in 1989. By then, the ants were located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee.

Virginia's Plant and Pest Services office has searched for and sought to eradicate the red ants in eight counties and 10 cities in the state.

Last year, the ants were found in 137 sites in those counties and cities. Most are in the Tidewater area and southern Virginia. None were found in Northern Virginia.

"The Tidewater area is most conducive. Winters in Virginia knock the populations back," Mr. Fulgham said.

Officials said reports of fire ants in southeastern Virginia have surged recently, partly because of sudden wet weather that forced them up to the surface.

Rain funnels down through the mounds into the colony tunnels, forcing the fire ants to evacuate to the surface, officials said.

Officials said the fire ants like warm temperatures and can dig down six feet to stay warm, and protect the queen, which can produce up to 1,600 eggs daily.

Most fire-ant colonies are found in mounds of dirt, where the queen gives birth and the workers live. No fire-ant mound was found on Mr. Johnson's lawn, officials said.

The mounds typically are 6 to 18 inches high, although some can be three feet high. The colonies can damage farmers' field-work machinery, Mr. Fulgham said.

Mounds sometimes must be treated for three years before the colony is destroyed. Mr. Fulgham said exterminators frequently spread bait that worker ants carry as meals to the queen. The bait is poisonous, and exterminators usually find out in six weeks if the colony is destroyed.

Other treatments may be ineffective. Mr. Fulgham said worker ants can dig as deep as 10 feet in the soil to carry the queen to safety.