ISOLATION OF FUNGI FROM HOUSEFLY (MUSCA DOMESTICA) IN AHWAZ, IRAN

Objectives: The objective of this study was isolation of fungi on external surface of houseflies collected from Ahwaz, Iran. Methodology: The fungal spores of the external surface of 275 house-flies (Musca domestica) were collected from Ahwaz, Iran. The flies were captured and rinsed in a solution of 1% sodium hypochlorite for three minutes and twice in sterile distilled water for 1min. The group of ten flies was transferred to a 0.85% saline solution. 0.1ml of this solution was transferred to Sabouraud’s dextrose agar (SDA). The plates were kept at room temperature to allow appearance of the fungal colonies. Results: In this study 1295 fungal colonies were identified. The main fungi isolated were species of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Yeasts, Cladosporium and Fusarium. Also, 2 dermatophytes were recovered including Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that house-fly is a carrier for fungal spores.