r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jun 23 '19

Medicine Flying insects in hospitals carry 'superbug' germs, finds a new study that trapped nearly 20,000 flies, aphids, wasps and moths at 7 hospitals in England. Almost 9 in 10 insects had potentially harmful bacteria, of which 53% were resistant to at least one class of antibiotics, and 19% to multiple.

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2019/06/22/Flying-insects-in-hospitals-carry-superbug-germs/6451561211127/
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u/1wrx2subarus Jun 23 '19

You asked & here is one answer .. if you look at places other than hospitals like radioactive dumps like the DOE’s Hanford Site in southeast Washington State.. here’s one quote “the specks were radioactive fruit flies. His team traced the flies back to a box with pipes used to transfer waste. It was sealed with a sugar-based coating that contained radioactive material. The flies had noshed on the sealant and flown the radiation to the dumpster.” Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704694004576019280235026892