Purpose of ReviewArboviruses, viruses transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies, and fleas are a significant threat to public health because of their epidemic and zoonotic potential. The geographical distribution of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile (WN), Rift Valley fever (RVF), Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika has expanded over the last decades. Countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions are not spared. Outbreaks of WN are repeatedly reported in the Mediterranean basin. Human cases of RVF were reported at the southern borders of the Maghreb region. For this reason, establishing the basis for the research to understand the potential for the future emergence of these and other arboviruses and their expansion into new geographic areas became a public health priority. In this context, the European network “MediLabSecure” gathering laboratories in 19 non-EU countries from the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions seeks to improve the surveillance (of animals, humans, and vectors) by reinforcing capacity building and harmonizing national surveillance systems to address this important human and veterinary health issue. The aim of this review is to give an exhaustive overview of arboviruses and their vectors in the region.Recent FindingsThe data presented underline the importance of surveillance in the implementation of more adapted control strategies to combat vector-borne diseases. Partner laboratories within the MediLabSecure network present a wide range of infrastructures and have benefited from different training programs.SummaryAlthough reporting of arboviral presence is not carried out in a systematic manner, the expansion of the area where arboviruses are present cannot be disputed. This reinforces the need for increasing surveillance capacity building in this region to prevent future emergences.
Two forms of leishmaniasis are endemic to the Jenin district in the northern region of the West Bank. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by Leishmania infantum, mainly affects infants. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) affects a broader age group and is probably caused by L. tropica. Although the Jenin district is the most important focus of leishmaniasis in the West Bank, the sand fly fauna of the area has never been studied in a systematic manner. We collected base-line data on sand fly species, their distribution, and their feeding preferences to facilitate risk assessments for contracting leishmaniasis. Light traps, sticky traps, insecticide knockdown collections, aspirator, and human-landing collections were used. A total of 4,082 sand flies was collected in foci of confidence limits and/or VL between June and December 1998. Nine Phlebotomus species representing seven subgenera were identified: P. (Larroussius) perfiliewi transcaucasicus Perfil'ev, P. (La.) tobbi Adler & Theodor, P. (La.) mascitti canaaniticus Adler & Theodor, P. (La.) mascitti mascitti Grassi, P. (La.) syriacus Adler & Theodor, P. (Phlebotomus) papatasi Scopoli, P. (Synphlebotomus) s.p., P. (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti Parrot, P. (Par.) jacusieli Theodor, P. (Adlerius) halepensis Theodor. Two other Phlebotomus subspecies, P. (La.) major major Annandale, P. (La .) neglectus Tonnoir, require confirmation. In addition, four species of the closely related genus, Sergentomyia were also found: S. (Sergentomyia) theodori Parrot, S. (S.) fallax Parrot, S. (Sintonitus) tiberiadis Adler, Theodor & Lourie, S. (Sin.) christophersi Sinton. Among five species of sand flies collected on human bait, P. papatasi constituted approximately 90% followed by P. major syriacus (8%) and P. mascitti (2%). Sand fly human-biting activity occurred through the night and it was highest between 2400 and 0300 hours. P. papatasi. P. perfiliewi, P. major and P. tobbi were the more endophilic species constituting 93% of all flies caught indoors. Seven Phlebotomus spp. constitute potential vectors of leishmaniasis but the most probable ones are as follows: P. papatasi the main human-biting species, a recognized vector of L. major (CL), P. sergenti, L. tropica (CL) and P. syriacus, L. infantum (VL).
Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) (Diptera: Psychodidae) is the main vector of Leishmania major Yakimoff & Schokhor; which is the cause of self-limiting cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Old World. This sandfly is found in houses, animal shelters, caves and rodent burrows. It has a large geographical range, which includes the Middle East and the Mediterranean regions. A population analysis of colony and field specimens of P. papatasi was conducted on 25 populations originating from 10 countries. The distribution of haplotypes of the maternally inherited mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were analysed to assess the population differentiation of P. papatasi. Alignment of a 442-basepair region at the 3' end of the gene identified 21 haplotypes and 33 segregating sites from 131 sandflies. The pattern of sequence variations did not support the existence of a species complex. The median-joining network method was used to describe both the origin of the haplotypes and the population structure; haplotypes tended to cluster by geographical location, suggesting some level of genetic differentiation between populations. Our findings indicate the presence of significant population differentiation for populations derived from Syria, Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Knowledge of population differentiation among P. papatasi populations is important for understanding patterns of dispersal in this species and for planning appropriate control measures.
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