Background: Mosquito-borne arboviruses such as West Nile, dengue, Rift Valley fever, and Sindbis viruses and the nematode Dirofilaria are reported in Iran, but there is little information on the seasonal activity of their vectors in the country. We aimed to determine the seasonal activity of adult mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in a focus of dirofilariasis and West Nile infection in Guilan Province, northern Iran.
Methods: Collections were carried out using light traps in seven counties at least two times from random sites and every two weeks from a fixed site (Pareh Village, Rudbar County) during Aug–Dec 2015 and Apr–Oct 2016.
Results: Overall, 16327 adult mosquitoes comprising 18 species representing seven genera were identified. The most prevalent species were Cx. theileri (23.59%), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (20.75%), Cx. pipiens (19.37%), Ae. vexans (18.18%), An. pseudopictus (10.92%) and An. maculipennis s.l. (5.48%). Aedes pulcritarsis and Cx. perexiguus were found for the first time in Guilan Province. The active season of adult mosquitoes extended from early May to early Oct in the fixed site. There was no significant regression between the abundance of adult mosquitoes and the meteorological data during active season in the fixed site (P> 0.05, R2= 0.31).
Conclusion: Though no significant regression between the abundance of mosquitoes and the meteorological data was observed during active season, temperature and rice fields had a great influence in starting and ending active season in the region.
Seven genera and more than 98 species of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are found in southwestern Asia (Harbach 1988). The most recent checklist of Iranian mosquitoes includes 69 species representing either seven or 11 genera depending on the classification used for aedines (Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). Orthopodomyia pulcripalpis (Rondani) was the most recent genus and species to be added to the Iranian mosquito fauna (Azari-Hamidian et al. 2017).
Background: Different forms of leishmaniasis are significant infectious diseases in Iran. While, Rudbar County of Guilan Province has been introduced as a new cutaneous leishmaniasis focus, there are few published data about the phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) of the province.
Methods: To study the phlebotomine fauna of Rudbar County, the sampling was performed in 12 collection sites by light traps, sticky traps and manual aspirators throughout August–December 2015. Sand flies were removed from the sticky traps, rinsed in acetone and stored in 80% ethanol along with the collections of light traps and hand catches.
Results: In total, 2186 sand flies were collected and ten species representing two genera were morphologically identified: Phlebotomus (Adlerius) halepensis (0.27%), Ph. (Larroussius) kandeladii (0.10%), Ph. (Lar.) neglectus (0.91%), Ph. (Lar.) perfiliewi (53.88%), Ph. (Lar.) tobbi (43.45%), Ph. (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti (0.82%), Ph. (Phlebotomus) papatasi (0.10%), Sergentomyia (Parrotomyia) baghdadis (0.27%), Se. (Sintonius) clydei (0.05%) and Se. (Sin.) tiberiadis (0.10%). The species Ph. halepensis, Ph. neglectus, Ph. perfiliewi, Se. baghdadis, Se. clydei and Se. tiberiadis were reported for the first time in Guilan Province. This study also verified the presence of Ph. neglectus (Ph. major krimensis as a synonym and morphotype) in Iran. Moreover, the taxonomy of the subgenus Larroussius of the province was discussed.
Conclusion: The prevalence of suspected or proven cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis vectors is noteworthy. The study of ecology of sand flies and detecting the exact vectors of leishmaniasis and phlebotomine fever by molecular specific tests in Guilan Province are recommended.
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