Arctech Innovation, The Cube, Londoneast-uk Business and Technical Park, Yew Tree Avenue, Dagenham, UK.
Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, UK.
J Med Entomol. 2024 Jul 12;61(4):845-860. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjae070.
Musca flies (Diptera: Muscidae) have been found culpable in the mechanical transmission of several infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and helminths, particularly in low-income settings in tropical regions. In large numbers, these flies can negatively impact the health of communities and their livestock through the transmission of pathogens. In some parts of the world, Musca sorbens is of particular importance because it has been linked with the transmission of trachoma, a leading cause of preventable and irreversible blindness or visual impairment caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, but the contribution these flies make to trachoma transmission has not been quantified and even less is known for other pathogens. Current tools for control and monitoring of house flies remain fairly rudimentary and have focused on the use of environmental management, insecticides, traps, and sticky papers. Given that the behaviors of flies are triggered by chemical cues from their environment, monitoring approaches may be improved by focusing on those activities that are associated with nuisance behaviors or with potential pathogen transmission, and there are opportunities to improve fly control by exploiting behaviors toward semiochemicals that act as attractants or repellents. We review current knowledge on the odor and visual cues that affect the behavior of M. sorbens and Musca domestica, with the aim of better understanding how these can be exploited to support disease monitoring and guide the development of more effective control strategies.
家蝇（双翅目：蝇科）已被发现是几种传染性病原体（包括病毒、细菌、原生动物和蠕虫）机械传播的罪魁祸首，尤其是在热带地区的低收入环境中。大量的家蝇会通过传播病原体对社区及其牲畜的健康造成负面影响。在世界的某些地方，厩螫蝇（Musca sorbens）尤为重要，因为它与导致可预防和不可逆转的失明或视力损害的沙眼（由沙眼衣原体引起）的传播有关，但这些苍蝇在沙眼传播中的作用尚未量化，对其他病原体的了解则更少。目前用于控制和监测家蝇的工具仍然相当原始，主要集中在利用环境管理、杀虫剂、诱捕器和粘蝇纸。鉴于苍蝇的行为是由其环境中的化学线索触发的，因此通过关注与滋扰行为或潜在病原体传播相关的活动，监测方法可能会得到改善，并且有机会通过利用作为引诱剂或驱避剂的半化学物质的行为来改善苍蝇的控制。我们综述了厩螫蝇和家蝇行为的气味和视觉线索的现有知识，旨在更好地了解如何利用这些知识来支持疾病监测并指导更有效的控制策略的制定。
