Experimental research is currently on-going to come up with a virus that inhibits the reproduction rate among germ-carrying, bacteria–spreading houseflies. Scientists at the USDA are currently looking into the salivary gland hypertrophy virus, which when it infects female houseflies they cannot lay eggs while the male flies cannot mate. By curbing their reproduction rate, the amount of bacteria they can spread is also greatly reduced.
According to Chris Geden, an entomologist who works at ARS (Agricultural Research magazine) the new virus will enable scientists to manage the adult housefly population by limiting their reproduction ability affecting their numbers. They usually spread disease-causing pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella. The greatest challenge the researchers are facing at the moment is how to ensure that the infection rate among the houseflies is increased. Under normal conditions, this rate is worryingly low at around 1%. The team at ARS has joined forces with researchers at Denmark’s Aarhus University and those at the University of Florida, to carry out experiments on two groups of flies in the two regions.
The findings of the research led to the conclusion that the infection rate is highest when the groups of flies were not only exposed to other infected houseflies alone, but also to water. Geden also stressed that this new method could not replace insecticides since the effects of the virus could only be realized over a period of time and the group of flies would have to be infected more than one time. Last year in November, the same team was also testing a chemical, pyriproxyfen, which prevented the larvae from maturing. The pesticide also affects the growth of mosquitoes, stunting it completely. The chemical worked by imitating a hormone within the larvae, forcing it to remain in this stage and thus it does not fully evolve to become an adult.
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