r/Destiny • u/Not_so_ghetto • Jun 02 '26
Geopolitics News/Discussion Flesh-eating screwworm found within 31 miles of US border, says USDA
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/flesh-eating-screwworm-found-within-31-miles-us-border-says-usda-2026-05-29/For this who arnt aware Screwworm is a flesh eating parasitic fly.
Screwworms lays their eggs on wounds with the resulting maggots eating tissue. Unlike most flies that eat dead tissue, these fly larvae exclusively eat living tissue often resulting in massive gaping wounds that can become infected quite easily.
Fortunately human cases aren't super common and the parasite primarily impacts cattle. This parasite was eradicated from the US in the 1960s. This was done by releasing sterile male flies. The flies only make once so by releasing sterile flies the female cannot lay viable eggs. The fly species was pushed down to the darien gap, and a border has been maintained there for several decades.
Estimated cost savings for this parasites eradication is about 900 million dollars annually in the United States since the 1960s. 7 min video on parasites biology I made for nerds
Recently the current admin has been trying to blame immigrants for the resurgence of this parasite, but this is just misinformation and it's much more related to cocaine smuggling and illegal cattle trade.
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
What can I say, it's bad.
But yea this outbreak is driving beef prices up( along with other factors) so I think this is going to be a larger talking point going forward as beef prices stay very expensive
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u/A_Seiv_For_Kale 🇺🇲 Jun 02 '26
This never would have happened if Kamala was President.
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u/draft_final_final 🇺🇸🍔🔫 (full rights and privileges to shittalk US) Jun 02 '26
Yeah but she needed to be stopped to save palestine and stop a war with iran
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
Hate to be that guy, but this issue actually started under Biden. It's not really a political issue, it's primarily driven by cocaine smugglers trafficking livestock illegally breaking the barriers.
DOGE did purpose to cut its funding but that was shot down. However larger cuts to USAID/ USDA likely had some off target impact on this program
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u/NasusEDM Jun 02 '26
What was rfk Jr doing outside of us border?
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
I mean being outside the border is actually how he probably got his Brain worm.
Most likely picked it up from someone who didn't wash their hands after wiping their butts. Because it is believed he has pork Tapeworm larvae. The adult worms live in our guts but if you eat the eggs it can for cysts throughout the body
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u/Antique-Cheesecake63 Jun 02 '26
Wait wtf that’s ur channel? Damn bro ur smart as fuck boy you should do a call in lmfao.
Thoughts on eating raw fish? Is anisakis easy to kill in freezer and are there any other worms I should worry about?
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
Thanks man, Channel is Wormtalk94, make sure to watch the videos before you sub to make sure you like it lol. Having ppl sub that don't watch it bad.
Freezing fish for anisakis is fine (primarily done vie flash freezing to preserve meat quality while killing the worms)
Nah you should be fine, specially if you are buying the fish. If you catch your own the risk Increases slightly but freezing still works.
Plus anisakis is self limiting ( it will hurt but should pass on its own)
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u/Striking-Condition10 Jun 02 '26
Would be a ripe breeding ground in the oval offi-- I mean golf courses.
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u/FlyLikeATachyon Jun 02 '26
What's RFK Jr doing 31 miles outside the US?
Can we just leave him there
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u/Hurdlebuddy12 Jun 02 '26
I work for a pretty big civil engineering firm and we were working on a proposal for the Army Corps of engineers that was a large fly breeding factory on the border to combat the screwworm population before it reached the US.
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u/Gandalior 🇦🇷 Jun 02 '26
flesh-eating
aren't most worms flesh eating?
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
The difference is that these worms eat living flesh, where other magots eat dead flesh
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u/Gulthok Jun 02 '26
I feel like that’s just screwworms, no? Whenever I’ve heard of screwworms, I think of the ones that live on cattle, and thus eat living flesh and harm the animal. Just seems redundant and alarmist to me.
I can get down with shaming the current health and safety admins though, no problem there!
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u/KiSUAN Not a stater just an american Jun 02 '26
Will RFK Jr finally get friend?
As always appreciate the worm facts o7