In the book, I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, by Nadine Westcott, an old lady swallows a fly and finds the consequences of her solutions to be worse than the actual consequences of swallowing the fly.

House flies love moist foods and love to breed in garbage and manure piles. But most of all house flies love humans and are very attracted to human bodies. In the past, scientists suspected that house flies transmitted diseases like polio and leprosy. People believed that flies transmitted diseases through their feet, and would throw food away if a fly landed on it. History has proved this to be incorrect; nevertheless flies are still annoying insects that many people spend their summers swatting away.

Information from:
Deyrup, Mark. Florida's Fabulous Insects. Tampa Bay Florida: World Publications, 2000