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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Laboratory Rearing of Stable Flies and Other Muscoid Diptera
Published on: August 3, 2018
Household pit latrines as a potential source of the fly Musca sorbens--a one year longitudinal study from The Gambia
Paul M Emerson1, Victoria M Simms, Pateh Makalo
1School of Biological and Biomedical Science, University of Durham, Durham, UK. paul.emerson@emory.edu
Objectives:
To assess whether the trachoma vector Musca sorbens was breeding in household latrines in a trachoma-endemic part of The Gambia.
Methods:
Longitudinal study of flies emerging from 16 sentinel household latrines selected at random from a list of all latrines present in four Gambian villages. Latrines were surveyed and fly traps were set over the drop hole for 24 h once per month for a year.
Results:
All the sentinel latrines were of the 'Gambian improved household latrine' design, which has a cement slab but is not ventilated or fly-proofed. The latrines were all in regular use by a family, mean number of users per latrine 14.8 (SD 8.0, range 2-29). Of 55 351 flies caught in 192 catches 54 130 (97.8%) were Chrysomya albiceps, 690 (1.2%) Musca domestica, 466 (0.8%) Chrysomya regalis and 65 (0.1%) M. sorbens. Of the M. sorbens caught 61 (93.8%) were female.
Conclusions:
Gambian improved household pit latrines cannot be considered a source of the trachoma vector M. sorbens, and the promotion of pit latrines as a method to reduce M. sorbens is warranted. A large number of C. albiceps were caught emerging from the latrines, but this species is not considered to be of medical importance.
