What do you think when you see a fly flying around your house—especially around food or the kitchen? Dirty, disgusted, or do you want to immediately call a fly exterminator to get rid of them? These three responses are natural, considering that flies like to land in trash cans and carry many disease-causing germs. In fact, according to the WHO, flies in the house can transmit around 65 diseases! What diseases do flies usually carry into the house?
- E. coli
The primary cause of the disease is E. coli, a bacteria that can cause diarrhea, blood in the stool, abdominal cramps, and fever. Symptoms of infection from this bacteria usually appear after 3–4 days, but can also last up to two weeks.
- Anthrax
Anthrax is a bacterial infection that can affect the skin, lungs, intestines, and injection sites. On the skin, anthrax appears as small blisters that swell and turn into painless ulcers with black centers. Anthrax, caused by houseflies, can be fatal if left untreated.
- Food poisoning
Because flies enjoy perching on dirty places, they easily transfer bacteria from these areas to food in the house. As a result, food poisoning, characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and even loss of appetite, is also easy to occur.
- Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation or swelling of the conjunctiva, the thin, transparent tissue that lines the inner surface of the eyelids, caused by bacteria. This condition is actually a very common eye condition and can easily spread in workplaces and schools. Symptoms are also very common, including itching, swelling, and a pinkish discoloration of the eyeball.
- Typhus
Typhus is caused by Salmonella bacteria and is characterized by severe fever. This highly contagious disease can infect humans through food or drink contaminated with Salmonella bacteria carried by flies in the home.
It turns out that flies can carry quite a lot of diseases at home, right? So, let's get into the habit of maintaining cleanliness in and around the house, including covering food with food covers. Additionally, you can occasionally call a pest control service like ETOS, which uses environmentally friendly technology.