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#1
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05-09-2013, 07:44 PM
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 ★The Queen★ Poster Rank:68 Female Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 23,461
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23,461Posts 28,287Thanked 3,083Quoted 95Mentioned 145Contrib. |
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Deadly Giant Snails Found in Houston
Scientists are warning residents of Houston, Texas, not to handle giant African land snails because they can carry meningitis. By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News Residents of a Houston neighborhood are being warned to stay away from giant African land snails after a woman found one in her garden and snapped a photo of it. The snails, researchers warn, are potentially dangerous to touch, in part because they can carry meningitis. Scientists have warned anyone who comes in contact with them to wash their hands thoroughly. "They also carry a parasitic disease that can cause a lot of harm to humans and sometimes even death," Autumn Smith-Herron, director of the Institute for the Study of Invasive Species at Sam Houston State University, told NBC Houston affiliate KPRC. A woman gardening in the Briar Forest neighborhood of Houston found the snail and notified workers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center who deal with invasive plants. It is the first reported sighting of the mollusk in Texas, and no one seems to know how it got there. The giant snails can lay 100 eggs per month, and though only one has been found, it is believed more are in the area. Jack Fendrick, who lives near where the slimy giant was discovered, said he will do his part to warn of the potentially deadly snails. "I think most kids especially would look at a big snail and want to touch it," he said. "That's scary." http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013...und-in-houston |
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#3
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05-10-2013, 01:34 AM
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 My Rank: MASTER SERGEANT Poster Rank:506 Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 2,068
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Re: Deadly Giant Snails Found in Houston
Even immigrant snails are disease ridden.   |
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#4
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05-10-2013, 09:13 AM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:87 Professional Vaginalist Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 18,161
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Re: Deadly Giant Snails Found in Houston
I used to live in the south when I was young, handled those snails all the time and never got sick or diseased... they got a bad rap man.  |
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#5
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05-10-2013, 09:27 AM
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 My Rank: CORPORAL Poster Rank:1295 Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 475
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Re: Deadly Giant Snails Found in Houston
Handling them isn't inherently risky. They're only really dangerous if you have broken skin when you handle them or if you eat them without cooking properly. They have to have the infection to begin with of course, and not all of them do.
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#7
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05-10-2013, 11:16 AM
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 My Rank: MASTER GUNNERY SERGEANT Poster Rank:353 Male Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 3,584 3,584Posts 1,685Thanked 330Quoted 6Mentioned 0Contrib. |
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Re: Deadly Giant Snails Found in Houston
mega escargot, get some French people to sort the problem out.
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#10
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05-10-2013, 03:00 PM
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| ★The Queen★ Poster Rank:68 Female Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 23,461
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23,461Posts 28,287Thanked 3,083Quoted 95Mentioned 145Contrib. |
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Re: Deadly Giant Snails Found in Houston
Damn! Didn't realize they were that big! Like a sci-fi movie! They kind of look like evil puggles. Thanks for the photo, mpcronin! |
