Ability of Musca autumnalis (Diptera: Muscidae) to acquire and transmit bovine herpesvirus-1

Bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) was detected in Musca autumnalis De Geer after feeding on virus suspensions in bovine albumin or sucrose. Virus was detected for 48 h in flies fed an albumin suspension, with the highest titers recovered in crops (1.0 x 10(4) TCID50/ml) and whole-body (5 x 10(4) TCID50/ml/fly) specimens immediately after feeding; the level of virus declined rapidly thereafter. Virus titers in flies fed sucrose suspensions were 5 x 10(4) TCID50/ml in excised crops and 5 x 10(5) TCID50/ml in whole-body specimens; virus was not detected in flies 72 h after feeding. Four Hereford calves exposed for 4 h to BHV-1 fed flies did not develop any clinical symptoms related to BHV-1 transmission (i.e., elevated temperatures, ocular/nasal discharges, and labored breathing). Serum neutralization and plaque reduction tests did not show antibody production in calves exposed to BHV-1 infected flies. While we demonstrated that face flies retained BHV-1 for a short period of time, it does not appear that M. autumnalis is involved in either the mechanical or biological transmission of BHV-1.