Is it true New Killer Insect That Infects You In Just A Few Minutes If You Kill It With Bare Hands

Outline:
Circulating ‘warning’ message claims that you should watch out for a ‘killer insect’ that, if touched, ‘spreads virus to the place of bodily contact and circulates the entire human system in minutes’. The warning features an image of the insect along with a picture of a human hand covered with holes in the skin supposedly caused by the virus.

Brief Analysis:
The claims in the message are nonsense. The holes shown on the hand in the photograph are not the result of a virus caught via touching an insect but rather just special effects created using makeup artist moulding putty. And the pictured insect is just a Giant Waterbug. These insects certainly do not transmit a deadly virus if touched.

Hoax of FACT : HOAX

Detailed Analysis:
According to a rather breathless ‘warning’ message that is currently circulating the interwebs at speed, you should watch out for a ‘killer insect’ that, if touched, ‘spreads virus to the place of bodily contact and circulates the entire human system in minutes’. The warning features an image of the insect along with a picture of a human hand that has supposedly been infected by the virus.  The depicted hand and fingers are covered with what look like deep, diseased looking holes in the skin supposedly caused by the virus. And, the back of the insect appears to harbour structures similar to the hand holes.

The ‘SOS Alert’ message asks that you forward the information to your family and friends so that they will be aware of the dangers of touching the insects.

However, the claims in the supposed warning message are utter nonsense. The holes on the depicted hand are not the result of a virus caught via touching an insect but rather just clever special effects created using makeup artist moulding putty and some other common substances. The following YouTube video shows how the hand holes are created:

The insect shown in the photo is a Giant Waterbug. In some species of waterbugs, the females lay their eggs on the backs of male insects. The males then protect the eggs until they hatch. The shapes on the back of the insect in the picture are thus just eggs. Waterbugs can reportedly nip fingers or toes but they are certainly not killer insects that can transmit a deadly virus if touched.