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Gone Fission

Posted by michael on from the live-bait dept.

Eddie writes "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into that snakehead fishpond behind the shopping center in Crofton, Md., now comes word of a new threat slithering into our environment - "nuclear worms" from Vietnam carrying cholera and other deadly diseases." There are a bunch of blurbs here and there about these worms - apparently this Washington Post story was the origin of most of them.

4 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. They don't carry cholera! by ngtni · · Score: 4, Informative

    From the WP article...

    > Early imports were packed in material found to
    > contain the pathogen that causes cholera,
    > though no cases resulted.

    It was the packaging, not the worms, that were the problem. I just thought I'd clear that up for anyone who didn't read the full WP article. :)

  2. Some research... by powerlinekid · · Score: 5, Informative

    When I first saw this I thought "yeah, ok", but after some googling it appears that they are actually real and not some washington post made up crap. This link
    Maryland Marine Notes which discusses concerns for Chesapeake bay mentions how the Department of Natural Resources classifies the "nuclear worm" on their list of no known problems but potentially dangerous creatures.This one is by the US Wildlife field service:
    more info I've been trying to find a photo but everyone has the same info... basically wildlife angencies are trying to figure out what the hell it is and how dangerous it is... fisherman use it as bait, and the press hypes up the "nuclear" part of it by saying it was created by agent orange and napalm. The actual name nuclear worm was made up by a bait salesman on chesapeake bay because it sounded good. *rolls eyes*

    --

    can't sleep slashdot will eat me
    1. Re:Some research... by DTC · · Score: 3, Informative

      Here's a picture, but the image isn't very large.

    2. Re:Some research... by Vulture_ · · Score: 3, Informative
      fisherman use it as bait, and the press hypes up the "nuclear" part of it by saying it was created by agent orange and napalm.
      That's so far from what was actually said in the article that it's not even funny. I'll blockquote what was really said:
      It's the Nuclear Worm (genus Namalycastis), Vietnam's biological revenge for all that napalm and Agent Orange 30 years ago.
      This is not saying that the worm was created by napalm or Agent Orange. Read it a little more carefully.
      --

      The only way the typical /.er can pick up a chick is with a forklift. -- AC