Flies (Insecta, Diptera) collected in the environment of dairy farms as carriers of rotavirus A and betacoronavirus.

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the prevalence of rotavirus and coronavirus in dipterans that commonly inhabit the environment of dairy farms. We collected 217 insect specimens from nine dairy farms, which were examined through hemi-nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing in search of VP1 and N genes for rotavirus and bovine coronavirus-BCoV, respectively. Eleven families of Diptera were identified, with a predominance of Muscidae (152/217=70%). Rotavirus A (RVA) and BCoV were detected in 14.7% (32/217) and 4.6% (10/217) of the dipterans, respectively. Sequencing of the amplicons was possible for 11.5% (25/217) of RVA and 0.5% (1/217) of BCoV, confirming the presence of these pathogens. Our findings highlight the role of dipterans as carriers of rotavirus A and betacoronavirus of great relevance for public and animal health.