The Number and Varieties of Bacteria carried by the Common House-fly in Sanitary and Insanitary City Areas

Abstract

1. Over 450 naturally infected or wild flies (Musca domestica) were caught in Liverpool during September and the first part of October 1911 from different parts of the city. The number and kinds of bacteria carried and contained by them have been investigated.2. The number of bacteria coming from house-flies whilst struggling in liquid may be very large, varying from 2000, the lowest figure in 5 minutes, to 350,000, the highest figure in 30 minutes. This number may be taken as a measure of their capacity to pollute liquid with their vomit or excrement, or by wallowing in it. The number of bacteria carried inside the fly is very much greater.3. Flies caught either in insanitary or congested areas of the city carry and contain far more bacteria than those from the more sanitary, less congested or suburban areas. The number of aerobic bacteria from the former varied from 800,000 to 500,000,000 per fly, and from the latter from 21,000 to 100,000.4. The number of intestinal bacteria as indicated by glucose bile salt fermenters is also greater in the insanitary or congested areas, the numbers varying from 10,000 to 333,000,000, than in the more sanitary areas where they carried from 100 to 10,000.5. Pathogenic bacteria and those allied to the food poisoning group were only obtained from the congested or moderately congested areas and never from the suburban areas.6. We have examined the morphological characters and cultural reactions of 123 strains. Among those identified were twoStreptococci, and severalStaphylococciandSarcinae. 106 were small Gram negative non-spore bearing bacilli, and have been grouped as follows:Chromogenicgroup. Two strains ofB. pyocyaneuswere isolated from a knacker's yard; for the first time, we believe, from wild flies.Colon group. 41 colonies of this group were picked off haphazard and classified according to McConkey as follows:B. acidi lacticitype 19·5%B. coli communistype 12·2 %B. neapolitanustype 19·5 %B. lactis aerogenestype 46·4 %Salmonella group. One bacillus gave identical reactions toB. enteritidisof Gaertner except that serological tests were negative.Morgan's infantile diarrhoea group. One identical to Morgan's No. 1, and many others closely resembling it and Morgan's Nos. 2 and 3 were obtained.Others fall into Proteolytic, Acid lactose-sucrose (saccharose), and Miscellaneous groups.7. Flies caught in milk shops apparently carry and contain more bacteria than those from other shops with exposed food in a similar neighbourhood. The reason of this is probably because milk when accessible, especially in the summer months, is suitable culture medium for bacteria, and the flies first inoculate the milk and later reinoculate themselves, and then more of the milk, so establishing a vicious circle.8. On one occasion we compared the number of bacteria carried by house-flies caught in an eating house opposite the slaughter houses with the number carried by blue-bottles; the latter, as might be expected, was far larger.9. In cities where food is plentiful flies rarely migrate from the localities in which they are bred, and consequently the number of bacteria they carry depends upon the general standard of cleanliness in that locality. This is well indicated by the fact that flies caught in a street of modern fairly high class workmens' dwellings forming a sanitary oasis (Hornby Street) in the midst of a slum area, carried far less bacteria than those caught in the adjacent neighbourhood.10. It is clear that flies from the suburbs where infantile diarrhoea is rare carry far less bacteria than those in the city where it is common. It was, nevertheless, impossible in the time at our disposal to correlate exactly the number or varieties of bacteria carried by flies in the city with the number of cases and deaths from infantile diarrhoea in individual streets.11. As the amount of dirt carried by flies in any particular locality, measured in terms of bacteria, bears a definite relation to the habits of the people and the state of the streets, it demonstrates the necessity of efficient municipal and domestic cleanliness, if the food of the inhabitants is to escape pollution, not only with harmless but also with occasional pathogenic bacteria.