Experiments on Insect Transmission of the Virus of Poliomyelitis

The domestic fly (Musca domestica) can carry the virus of poliomyelitis in an active state for several days upon the surface of the body and for several hours within the gastro-intestinal tract. Mosquitos (Culex pipiens, Culex sollicitans, and Culex cantator), in our experiments, have not taken up and maintained in a living state the virus from the spinal cord of monkeys. Lice (Pediculus capitis and Pediculus vestimenti) have not taken the virus out of the blood of monkeys or maintained it in a living state. The bedbug (Cimex lectularius) has taken the virus with the blood from infected monkeys and maintained it in a living state within the body for a period of seven days.