This is a new system for identifying the flies associated with the transmission of food-borne diseases. The goal is to accurately recognize disease-carrying flies using a hand lens. The first component is an identification key based on wing venation - a readily observed character. The key is already validated for 27 of 108 fly Families. The second component is a set of illustrated fact sheets for species, from selected Families, that are encountered during an inspection and likely to transmit food-borne pathogens. Each sheet illustrates characters to differentiate target fly species from other flies and summarizes the fly's habits, recognition characters, breeding places, routes of entry and literature references. A contact is provided for requesting reprints, specimens or general assistance. Key and fact sheets are in CD-ROM format for wide application. The third component is a series of reference specimens for distribution with each fact sheet to confirm identifications. Voucher specimens are deposited at California Academy of Sciences. Field trials of the system are planned for August, 1997 with distribution in January, 1998.
Outcome - Relatively inexperienced personnel can use this system to focus an investigation on the specific health hazards associated with a particular fly species. Vulnerable critical control points, vulnerable product lines and potential routes of contamination may differ depending on which fly is detected during an inspection. Rapid differentiation of filth from incidental flies provides an early triage opportunity for prioritizing work and terminating unnecessary inspections to reduce costs of expensive laboratory and administrative reviews.