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Why House Fly Barf Is an Overlooked Potential Vector of Disease - ScienceAlert

Why House Fly Barf Is an Overlooked Potential Vector of Disease - ScienceAlert

Why House Fly Barf Is an Overlooked Potential Vector of Disease - ScienceAlert
Sep 23, 2022 53 secs

Because flies are attracted to filth, like dead animals and their feces, non-biting insects are likely to spread pathogens from one animal to another as they buzz around.

According to one recent study, more than 200 different pathogens have been found in adult house flies, including some bacteria, viruses, worms, and fungi.

In 2020, researchers showed in lab experiments that house flies could even carry SARS-CoV-2, mechanically transporting the live virus to new hosts on their legs, wings, or mouthparts.

In the 1990s, a study found that Escherichia coli bacteria can proliferate in and on the mouthparts of house flies.

In 2021, for instance, a study found that house flies infected with Chlamydia tachomatis could keep this pathogen alive in their crop for 24 hours – plenty of time to fly off and regurgitate on a new host.

"While there is little doubt that flies can carry bacteria, viruses, and parasites from waste to our food, a single touchdown is unlikely to trigger a chain reaction leading to illness for the average healthy person," University of Sydney entomologist Cameron Webb wrote in 2015.

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