Entomological and parasitological study on phlebotomine sandflies in central and northern Albania

Abstract

Summary :An entomological survey was carried out in two districts of central (Kruje) and northern (Lezhe) Albania. Six collecting sites, showing a variety of diurnal resting sites, were monitored for adult sandflies from June through October 2002. Flies were collected with CDC miniature light traps, sticky traps and mechanical or hand aspirators in peridomestic sites, in bedrooms and inside cow barns, chicken coops and pigpens. All collecting sites monitored were found positive for sandflies. A total of 849 specimens were caught (29.2 % males) belonging to five Phlebotomus species. Phlebotomus neglectus (75.6 %) was the most abundant species followed by P. perfiliewi (14.4 %), P. papatasi (4.6 %), P. tobbi (3.6 %) and P. similis (1.8 %). The first adult of P. neglectus appeared on June 11 and the last one was collected on October 16. The highest density for this species was observed at the end of July. A total of 111 blood-fed females were caught from the two areas studied. P. neglectus was the only species found blood fed in Lezhe and the same species was prevalent (56.1 %) in Kruje followed by P. perfiliewi (30.3 %), P. tobbi (10.6 %) ; P. papatasi was represented by only two specimens. Blood meal origin was determined in 45/66 (68.2 %) of the females tested from Kruje district. P. neglectus was found fed on four hosts, showing the following feeding patterns: cow (71.4 %), dog (17.1 %), chicken (5.7 %) and human (5.7 %) ; P. perfiliewi was found fed on cow (80.0 %) and chicken (20.0 %), P. tobbi on cow (50.0 %), chicken (25.0 %) and dog (25.0 %). One specimen of P. papatasi was found fed on cow. When such prevalences were analysed by the available biomass for each host present at the collecting site, P. neglectus resulted to be an opportunistic feeder rather than exhibiting preferences for any specific animal. PCR analysis of 39 P. neglectus from the Lezhe district gave negative results for the presence of Leishmania DNA. Résumé : ENQUÊTE ENTOMOLOGIQUE SUR LES PHLÉBOTOMES DANS DEUX DISTRICTS ALBANAIS

Phlebotomine Sandflies - Potential Vectors of Avian Trypanosomes

“…to date; however, anuran trypanosomes have been found in P. kazeruni (Kato et al 2010). Avian blood has been found in guts of several species of Phlebotomus (Maia et al 2013, Velo et al 2005, Svobodová et al 2003, Bongiorno et al 2003, confirming frequent feeding on birds that is a prerequisite of a transmission cycle between birds and sandflies belonging to the genus Phlebotomus. Feeding of Lutzomyia sandflies on avian host is well-known (e. g., Sant'Anna et al 2008), and was best confirmed by natural infection of L. caballeroi with avian trypanosomes (Kato et al 2011).…”

Preferência alimentar sanguínea de Lutzomyia whitmani (Diptera, Psychodidae) em área de transmissão de leishmaniose cutânea americana, no Estado do Maranhão, Brasil

“…A análise do conteúdo estomacal de fêmeas de flebotomíneos, por qualquer um dos métodos utilizados (precipitina, ELISA ou dot-ELISA), tem mostrado que os flebotomíneos, de modo geral, ajustam o seu padrão alimentar de acordo com a disponibilidade de hospedeiros, mostrando o oportunismo desses dípteros que sugam uma ampla variedade de vertebrados 13 .…”

Seroepidemiological and entomological survey in a new focus of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in Kars province, Northeastern Turkey

“…neglectus, the proven vector of zoonotic VL in Greece (Léger et al, 1988;Chaniotis et al, 2000), was found to be predominant only in Karabag village. This species is the suspected vector in Yugoslavia (Ivović et al, 2004), Albania (Velo et al, 2005), Croatia (Bosnić et al, 2006) and Italy (Maroli et al, 2008). P. neglectus is associated with VL transmission in western and central parts of Turkey (Tok et al, 2009;Ertabaklar et al, 2005).…”