Medicine: Bee Sting

Two years ago, as Svend Hansen, 40, clipped hedges in an Irvington, N. Y. garden, he was stung on the leg by a bee, fell unconscious. Twelve hours later, Hansen was revived by adrenalin and artificial respiration. Last week, as he worked in the garden, he was stung on the neck by a bee. In 15 minutes Svend Hansen was dead.

Death from a bee sting is not rare. In 1936, some 20 people in New England alone were stung, developed anaphylactic shock, died. Anaphylaxis is the opposite of immunity, results occasionally when a...