The widow of a 49-year-old Irishman who died in London from a wasp sting earlier this month has called for an urgent public awareness campaign. She wants the campaign to focus on the dangers posed to people who are severely allergic to the venom of stinging insects.
Ms Lynn McGuire, whose husband, Tony, was laid to rest in Ballycroy cemetery, Co Mayo, last Saturday, said medical authorities in Britain and Ireland were not doing enough to educate the public about anaphylaxia - a fatal reaction to insect stings which hampers breathing and interferes with the circulatory system.
"If I had known more about the condition, perhaps my husband would still be alive," the mother of two said last night. "The first time I heard anything about this allergy was at the inquest into Tony's death."
Mr McGuire, the owner of a London-based construction firm, died on the floor of his home on July 14th less than five minutes after being stung by a wasp.
A coroner's court found Mr McGuire died from anaphylaxia - an extreme allergic reaction to an antigen to which the body had become hypersensitive following an earlier exposure.
In the wake of the weekend funeral in Ballycroy of the popular local man, who returned home up to three times a year to see his mother, Ellen, and other family members, Ms McGuire recalled the tragedy which befell her and her two teenage children less than two weeks ago.
She said her husband was in the garden when stung. "He must have brushed the flowers in a window box." He ran back into the house and told her he had been stung by a wasp.
She took her husband's arm, squeezed the spot, and a tiny drop of liquid emerged. She then dabbed antiseptic on the wound.
Mr McGuire grew weak. He told his wife: "I feel like I will pass out." He later collapsed.
A casualty team at North Middlesex Hospital in Edmonton, London, tried desperately to save Mr McGuire's life, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Ms McGuire said her husband suffered a slight swelling when stung on the hand by a wasp a few years ago, but she had no idea he would be in danger of losing his life if stung again.
She added: "If I had known about anaphylaxia and the danger posed by subsequent wasp bites perhaps we would have been able to keep an antidote in the house. Much more needs to be done to educate the public about a danger which claims perhaps more than 100 lives worldwide every year."