I am writing this article as a way of promoting our fly killer
machines. It provides information on diseases that can be caused by
house flies.
Houseflies frequent dung heaps and other fecal
sources. They also visit decaying matter including dead animals. When
landing on food that is prepared for human consumption, contaminated
material is often transferred to the food.
There are a wide range of diseases that can be transmitted by flies. Here are some of them:
Typhoid Fever (Salmonella typhi)
Symptoms:
High temperature (up to 104 deg F or 40 deg C), loss of appetite,
headache, stomach pain and usually some weakness. Sometimes a pink skin
rash appears.
Treatment: A doctor will usually prescribe an
antibiotic and the symptoms will cease in a few days. If no treatment is
given, the subject may become seriously ill and even die from secondary
problems (up to 20% typhoid fever sufferers die without treatment).
Cholera (cause by Vibria cholerae, a bacterium)
Symptoms:
unexpected episodes of watery diarrhoea that contains flecks of white
mucous material, stomach pains, dry or sticky mouth, sunken eyes,
concentrated coloured urine, in a child a markedly sunken fontanelles
(the soft spot at the top of the head), dry skin, nausea and vomiting
(usually).
Treatment: Cases can vary from mild to serious. If
untreated, serious cases can lead to imminent death. Drink plenty of
fresh water, mixed with small quantities of salt and sugar. This will
restore the body's fluid. Treatment must be given immediately.
Escherichia coli
Symptoms:
This depends on the strain of Escherichia coli. Most strains are
harmless and result in no detectable symptoms. Other strains, such as
O157:H7 can sometimes cause bloody diarrhea. In a very small number of
cases Escherichia coli O157:H7 can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome
that can lead to kidney failure in young children. For most of us, and
for most of the time, Escherichia coli causes no problems.
Treatment:
No treatment is necessary, unless uremic syndrome occurs, in which case
a blood transfusion and kidney dialysis may be required.
Shigellosis (cause by Shigella, a bacterium)
Symptoms:
Diarrhoea (often bloody), fever, and stomach pains. Most cases are mild
and may not even be noticed. In a small number of cases, the very young
and very old may be vulnerable to high temperature fever, possibly (and
rarely) leading to a seizure in a toddler.
These are just some of
the illnesses that can be spread by houseflies. Be on your guard. To be
safe you may wish to install a fly killer machine (details follow).
