AUTHOR=Darvishi Mohammad , Yaghoobi-Ershadi Mohammad Reza , Shahbazi Farideh , Akhavan Amir Ahmad , Jafari Reza , Soleimani Hassan , Yaghoobi-Ershadi Nastaran , Khajeian Mohammad , Darabi Hossein , Arandian Mohammad Hossein 

TITLE=Epidemiological Study on Sand Flies in an Endemic Focus of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Bushehr City, Southwestern Iran

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00014

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2015.00014

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p>Cutaneous leishmaniasis is the most important health problem in the city of Bushehr, southwestern Iran. The objective of the study was to determine some ecological aspects of sand flies in the city during 2010–2011. Sand flies were collected monthly from outdoors and indoors by sticky traps at four selected districts of the city. They were also dissected and examined by nested-PCR for identification of the parasite during August–September of 2011. A total of 1234 adult sand flies were collected and 6 species including 3 of Genus <italic>Phlebotomus</italic> and 3 of Genus <italic>Sergentomyia</italic> were identified. Four species including <italic>P. papatasi</italic> (3.98%), <italic>P. sergenti</italic> (1.14%), <italic>S. tiberiadis</italic> (87.18%), and <italic>S. baghdadis</italic> (7.7%) were found indoors. Six species including <italic>P. papatasi</italic> (3.47%), <italic>P. sergenti</italic> (3.17%), <italic>P. alexandri</italic> (0.1%), <italic>S. tiberiadis</italic> (77.74%), <italic>S. baghdadis</italic> (15.41%), and one female of <italic>S. clydei</italic> (0.11%) were collected from outdoors. Sand flies started to appear from March and disappear at the end of January. There was only one peak in the density curve in July. The study revealed that <italic>S. tiberiadis</italic> and <italic>S. baghdadis</italic> could enter indoors which 89 and 81.8% of them were found blood-fed, respectively. Moreover, <italic>P. papatasi</italic>, <italic>S. tiberiadis</italic>, and <italic>S. baghdadis</italic> were active indoors and outdoors in most months of the year. Nested-PCR of <italic>P. papatasi</italic> females was positive against kinetoplast DNA of <italic>L. major</italic> and <italic>L. turanica</italic> and also mixed natural infections were found by <italic>L. gerbilli</italic> and <italic>L. turanica</italic>. Moreover, mixed infections by <italic>L. major</italic> and <italic>L. turanica</italic> were observed in this species. <italic>Sergentomyia clydei</italic> and <italic>S. tiberiadis</italic> were found to be negative to any DNA of <italic>Leishmania</italic> species. <italic>Phlebotomus sergenti</italic> females were found infected with DNA of <italic>L. turanica</italic> and this is the first report of natural infection and detection of the parasite from this sand fly species in worldwide.</p>