# Are ants disease carriers?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ants-disease-carriers/353424
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [April 20, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ants-disease-carriers/353424 "2006-04-20T04:04:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sommy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sommy)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ants-disease-carriers/353424/1 "2006-04-20T04:04:34Z")
In the United States, ants may carry the larva of the liver fluke, a flatworm that attaches itself to the livers of mammals and feeds on their blood. You can’t get this parasite from eating food touched by an ant - you have to actually eat an ant carrying fluke larva.
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ants-disease-carriers/353424/2 "2006-04-20T05:11:29Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, sommy.
The item you’re commenting on is not a Straight Dope column by Cecil Adams but rather a Straight Dope Staff Report by SDSAB member Doug. Consequently, I’ll move this thread to the Comments on Staff Reports Forum.
It is appreciated if you can provide a link to the item when posting a thread in the comments forums. The staff report in question is [Are ants disease-carriers?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mantsdisease.html)