ABUNDANCE AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF HOUSE FLY MUSCA DOMESTICA (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) WITH STUDY TO ASSOCIATED PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

The common house fly, Musca domestica L., is a mechanical vector of numerous diseases that may be spread from one living thing to another by sponging their mouthparts on their body and leg hairs after they have vomited. House flies (Musca domestica) have been known as a mechanical vector in spreading infectious diseases such as cholera, shigellosis, salmonellosis and skin infections. The present study aims to investigate the abundance of M. domestica adults in an urban region of Cairo Governorate, Egypt, throughout one year and bacterial diversity on its body surface. Adults of M. domestica were collected monthly by hunting. Collected adults were subjected to molecular identification. Bacteria were isolated from the surface of flies' body pieces and identified by automated identification systems (VITEK). Obtained data revealed that the highest abundance (201.67±15.57) was recorded in May 2022, while the lowest abundance (17.33±0.57) was recorded in April 2023. Also, M. domestica abundance positively correlated significantly (P≤0.001) with temperature (r= 0.895) and relative humidity (r= 0.827). Musca domestica species were molecularly identified, and the sequences were then banked on NCBI under the accession numbers OQ784762-OQ784764. The highest bacterial pathogen presence were Gram-positive Staphylococcus spp. and Bacillus spp. (77.0 %). Gram-negative Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumonias had the lowest presence (total of 23.0 %). On the other hand, the results of antibiotic sensitivity revealed that Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumonia are more resistant to several antibiotics than Staphylococcus spp. and Escherichia coli.