Transmission of Campylobacter jejuni by the housefly (Musca domestica).

Houseflies (Musca domestica) were infected with Campylobacter jejuni after being confined for 5 days in a Horsfall isolator containing 25-day-old chickens known to be fecal excretors of the organism. Contaminated flies, when subsequently transferred to a second unit, transmitted C. jejuni to specific-pathogen-free chickens. Allowing a sample of 32 houseflies to ingest C. jejuni in a liquid suspension resulted in recovery rates of 20% from the feet and ventral surface of the body and 70% from the viscera. These experiments demonstrated the potential role of flies in the dissemination of avian campylobacteriosis.