Isolation and Identification of Parasites From Housefly (Musca domestica) in Mosul City, Iraq

Houseflies (Musca domestica) considered the most predominant vector of zoonotic parasitic diseases of human and domestic animals. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of parasites and their kind that could be transmitted mechanically by flies. A total of 140 houseflies were randomly collected from butcher markets, sweet markets, toilets of schools, and groceries in Mosul city, Iraq, from August to October 2017. The results revealed the existence of 11 types of parasites. Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba coli have predominant percentage of 17.02% for each one, whereas the least prevalence was Isospora spp. (2.1%) of total investigated parasites. Other parasites, Cryptosporidium, Giardia Lamblia, Fasciola hepatica, and others have various percentages. It was concluded that houseflies are still public health trouble and it should be noted that climate changes in Mosul city at summer, go together with the bad drainage of sewage and accumulated rubbish, has a key role in the widespread of houseflies.