Why Flies on Food Are Dangerous: 4 Diseases to Know
Flies on food can spread hepatitis A, typhoid, cholera and dysentery. Learn how each disease passes on and why keeping flies out of your home matters.
You will surely agree that flies are dirty insects that can carry many diseases. And it is true, because food that flies have landed on risks causing health problems. You should get flies out of your home right away, because dangerous diseases like the ones below can result.
Diseases Caused by Flies
- Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a disease caused by a virus of the same name. People usually get it by eating or drinking food or beverages contaminated with the feces of someone who has the disease. There is a very good chance that flies can contaminate your food.
Flies can land anywhere, including on waste. It is entirely possible that the waste is the feces of a person with hepatitis A. If you eat contaminated food, it won't take long for the virus to multiply and cause infection.
- Typhoid
You are surely familiar with typhoid fever, known locally as tifus or tipes. It is caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi and spreads easily through food or drink contaminated with feces carrying the bacteria. The way flies pass it on is not much different from hepatitis A.
In Indonesia alone, nearly 100,000 people catch typhoid every year, so it is considered a serious health problem in the country. That is why getting flies out of your home should be done right away, since flies are one of the carriers of Salmonella typhi bacteria.
- Cholera
This disease is often found among people living in crowded areas with dirty surroundings. Cholera usually spreads through food or drink contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Symptoms of cholera include diarrhea with pale, watery stools.
The diarrhea can be mild or severe. If it becomes severe, it needs treatment right away because it causes dehydration, which can be fatal, especially in children. This is why flies, which can carry Vibrio cholerae bacteria, must never be allowed to land on food.
- Dysentery
Dysentery may resemble ordinary diarrhea and cholera, except that the diarrhea in dysentery is usually accompanied by blood and mucus. It is caused by Shigella bacteria, which flies can transmit. So it is very important to find ways to get flies out of your home to stay free of dysentery.
Besides the four diseases above, flies can also carry many other germs and bacteria that cause various illnesses. To prevent these diseases, you need to keep your surroundings clean, and you can add Cap Gajah fly glue as a way to get rid of flies.
