Abstract
House flies are important nuisance pests in a variety of confined livestock operations. More importantly, house flies are known mechanical vectors of numerous animal and human pathogens. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is an economically important, complex illness of cattle associated with several bacteria and viruses. The role of flies in the ecology and transmission of bacterial pathogens associated with BRD is not understood. Using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, we examined the prevalence of the BRD bacterial complex Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni in house flies collected in a commercial feedlot from a pen with cattle exhibiting apparent BRD symptoms. Using both methods, M. haemolytica was detected in 11.7% of house flies, followed by P. multocida (5.0%) and H. somni (3.3%). The presence of BRD bacterial pathogens in house flies suggests that this insect plays a role in the ecology of BRD pathogens and could pose a risk as a potential reservoir and/or a vector of BRD pathogens among individual cattle and in their environment.
Highlights
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a major problem in feedlot cattle production in the USA, and outbreaks can result in significant economic losses [1,2]
Haemolytica and P. multocida, while 54 individuals were processed for culturing of H. somni
M. haemolytica was isolated from two female house flies, whereas P. multocida was isolated from three females
Summary
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a major problem in feedlot cattle production in the USA, and outbreaks can result in significant economic losses [1,2]. The bacteria associated with BRD, Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni, and Mycoplasma bovis, are routinely isolated from cattle with BRD [5,6,7]. The prevalence of these bacteria in cattle production systems is highly variable [8]. House flies are among the most common insect pests in confined animal facilities, including cattle feedlots. Larvae develop in microbe-rich environments such as those contaminated with animal feces
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