Beware the vomiting fly

Beware the vomiting fly


Here’s a topic you’ve probably never given a moment’s thought, perhaps with the exception of the entomologists among us: Fly vomit.

It’s one thing when a pet cat or dog regurgitates somewhere in the home. Not pleasant. But you can smell it, see it, clean it. When a house fly gets queasy, how would you know? The fly, after all, isn’t going to ask you for Pepto Bismol.

That makes these flies a particular threat to human health. Our senses just can’t detect the gastronomic occurrence. A recent study by the University of Massachusetts says we should pay more attention to the health threat of these upchucking flies. They argue the risk posed could be higher than biting flies, who until now have gotten most of the attention as disease-spreaders.

Flies, however, are believed by scientists to transmit at least 65 diseases to humans, and are known to carry 351 types of bacteria.

Investigators say, as the common house fly buzzes through its day, it samples a veritable buffet: garbage, animal dung, perhaps even roadkill or sewage. It fills its crop, which is essentially a storage tank. That’s where the fly keeps its bounty until this malodorous concoction makes its way into the digestive track.

In the crop, unfortunately, this food isn’t subjected to the fly’s digestive juices, which would eliminate most pathogens. If the storage tank is full, and the fly happens upon another treat, something’s got to give.

But you’re unlikely to hear or see a fly get sick. Scientists argue much more research in needed to better understand the health threat.

Meantime, do what you can to keep your abode fly-free. You can’t swat a gluttonous human dinner guest. Flies, however, are fair game.

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