Screwworms are coming—and they’re just as horrifying as they sound
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Screwworms are possibly the most aptly named parasites imaginable, both literally and figuratively. Screwworms—technically, New World Screwworms—are flies that lay eggs on the mucous membranes, orifices, and wounds of warm-blooded animals. Wounds are the most common sites, and even a prick as small as a tick bite can be an invitation for the savage insects.
Once beckoned, females lay up to 400 eggs at a time. Within about a day, ravenous flesh-eating larvae erupt, which both look and act like literal screws. They viciously and relentlessly bore and twist into their victim, feasting on the living flesh for about seven days. The result is a gaping ulcer writhing with maggots, which attracts yet more adult female screwworms that can lay hundreds more eggs, deepening the putrid, festering lesion. The infection, called myiasis, is intensely painful and life-threatening. Anyone who falls victim to screwworms is figuratively—well, you know.
Personal NSFW story below
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert to clinicians Tuesday, warning that the savage, flesh-eating parasitic fly—the New World Screwworm—is not only approaching the Texas border, but also felling an increasing number of animals in the bordering Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
The advisory, released through the agency’s Health Alert Network, directs doctors, veterinarians, and other health workers to be on the lookout for patients with wounds teeming with ferocious maggots burrowing into their living flesh. The alert also provides guidance on what to do if any such festering wounds are encountered—namely, remove each and every maggot to prevent the patient from dying, and, under no circumstance allow any of the parasites to survive and escape.
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You chaps have clearly never watched the 1980's documentary 'The Thing'
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You know, I'm glad the real-feel temp on Friday morning at 5am will be -41. Kills all the bugs.
@89th said in Screwworms are coming—and they’re just as horrifying as they sound:
You know, I'm glad the real-feel temp on Friday morning at 5am will be -41. Kills all the bugs.
Let’s hope.
This cold dry weather gets me itching and scratching with psoriasis and stuff. Better than screwworms though . -
@jon-nyc said in Screwworms are coming—and they’re just as horrifying as they sound:
It is an under appreciated aspect of winter. In certain latitudes at least.
This is a bit random but I love doing late fall pruning (or even searching for the buckthorn invasive plant that stays green) since it's so much easier to get in behind all the branches when I don't have to worry about bug bites or spiders!
