The fly: a real disease vector

There is hardly anything tastier for a fly than faeces, rotting food and carcasses. That and anything else you put on the table. Because with their paws full of bacteria, they are just as happy to walk over your breakfast. They also defecate and urinate wherever they land. But how dangerous is this for your health?

Research on flying

Flies lay their eggs in rotting material and faeces. The bacteria they ingest there adhere to their legs and enter their bodies. It used to be thought that this was not very harmful, but in 2017 a group of international biologists investigated how many bacteria houseflies and blue-winged moths carry. And above all, how many bacteria they leave behind with their paws and faeces. For example, on your cheese sandwich. There were quite a few! An ordinary housefly can carry up to 6 million pathogens. Yuck!

Hundreds of diseases

With all these bacteria, houseflies and blowflies can transmit more than 100 diseases to humans. From relatively harmless infections to serious diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, leprosy and typhus. Fortunately, these diseases have been (almost) eradicated in Western Europe. The researchers found Helicobacter bacteria on the legs of some blowflies. These can cause stomach ulcers and even cancer in the stomach. The good news for us: these were blowflies from Brazil. However, flies can also transmit the nasty E. coli bacteria. These are common in the Netherlands and can cause nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

Prevention is better than cure

The best solution is simple: don't give flies the opportunity to leave their mess on your food. Always cover your food well when you eat outside. For example, with a fly bonnet. If you are barbecuing, you should also protect raw food from hungry flies, for example with foil. And as experts in this field, we also dare to say that the best way to keep your home - and therefore your dining table - free of flies is with a good fly curtain. If they can't get in, they can't sit on your food. And therefore don't make them sick!