Delivering a Virus that Gets Rid of House Flies
Date: 2.9.2013
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have found an effective method to infect house flies with a virus that stops the flies from reproducing.
House flies can transmit hundreds of animal and human pathogens like Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Shigella bacteria, which cause foodborne illnesses. Insecticides are used to help control flies, but the pests can develop resistance to chemicals.
Entomologist Christopher J. Geden, with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Fla., examined salivary gland hypertrophy virus (SGHV), a member of a newly discovered family of viruses called Hytrosaviridae. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
Collaborating with scientists at the University of Florida and Denmark's Aarhus University, Geden looked at SGHV's distribution and host range, and the effectiveness of different application methods on house flies. The virus reproduces in the salivary gland of the infected insects, preventing the females from laying eggs and preventing the males from mating...
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