Study Finds Houseflies Near Poultry Farms Spread Drug-Resistant Bacteria

A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study has reportedly found evidence that houseflies living near poultry operations could contribute to the spread of drug-resistant bacteria among humans. Researchers collected flies and poultry-litter samples from farming operations in the coastal regions of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, which has “one of the highest densities of broiler chickens per acre in the United States.”

Slated for publication in the April 2009 issue of Science and the Total Environment, the results showed similar strains of antibiotic-resistant Enterococci and Staphylococci in both the flies and the litter, leading the study authors to speculate that “flies in intensive production areas could efficiently spread resistance organisms over large distances.” “The findings demonstrate another potential link between industrial
food animal production and exposures to antibiotic resistant bacteria,” states a March 16, 2009, press release issued by the school’s Center for a Livable Future.