Leishmaniasis in Central Morocco: Seasonal Fluctuations of Phlebotomine Sand Fly in Aichoun Locality, from Sefrou Province

Abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniases (CL) are endemic in Morocco. They are common in the human population in different localities such as Aichoun in Sefrou province, Morocco. This study was carried out in Aichoun locality from April to October 2012 in order to study the spatiotemporal trends of the main Leishmania phlebotomine vectors in this focus. Overall, 1171 sand flies, belonging to four species, were collected by sticky traps. Phlebotomus sergenti was the predominant species (78.4%) followed by Ph. perniciosus (10.5%), Ph. papatasi (7.94%), and Ph. longicuspis (3.16%). Sandflies were active during 6 months (May–October). Ph. sergenti, Ph. perniciosus, and Ph. papatasi displayed a bimodal distribution with a first peak in July and a second peak in September, while Ph. longicuspis showed a monophasic trend with a peak in August. The high abundance and the lengthy period of activity of Ph. sergenti and Ph. perniciosus, vectors of L. tropica and L. infantum, respectively, are a cause for concern as they indicate the high potential risk of Leishmania transmission in the studied areas.

Entomological Investigations in Moulay Yaacoub, Leishmaniasis Focus in the Centr of Morocco

“…The work of El Miri et al [33] in SidiKasem, in the west of Province Moulay Yaâcoub has found a sex ratio of 4 males to one female, which is very close to our results. However, the work of Talbi et al [38] on the province of Sefrou in the south of our study area, found that males are 7.54 times more abundant than females. For all species sex ratio is >1, however, for the Lahouiti et al…”

Cartography and Epidemiological Study of Leishmaniasis Disease in Sefrou Province (2007–2010), Central North of Morocco

“…Our study area belongs to the semiarid located at an altitude between 220 and 2,000 m. Indeed, Rioux et al in 1984 showed that the distribution of various vector species of leishmaniasis is mainly linked to the climate [41]. At the level of the study area, the result could be explained by the type of climate prevailing in this region, the semiarid microclimate and the mountainous areas in which Phlebotomus sergenti was the most commonly collected sandfly species in the same area followed by Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus longicuspis [38]. Ph.…”

“…In addition, our observations are in line with the typical aspect of the transmission of this type of leishmaniasis (CL), whose infestation phase dates back to the summer-autumn period of the past year, which is closely related to the dynamics of the vector Phlebotomine, Ph. sergenti [38][39][40].…”

“…In addition, we have also observed that the percentages of the two cases of leishmaniasis differ from one commune to another, showing that there is a statistically significant relationship between the type of leishmaniasis and the communes studied (χ2 � 52; p value <0.001). Sefrou Province seems to be a typical home of CL like the other Moroccan regions [38]. L. tropica and L. infantum are the confirmed parasite species responsible for this area [25].…”

“…Sergenti is a species known as a vector of L. tropica in Morocco, which was identified at Tanant by Guilvard et al [42]. Different studies have shown the existence of this species at different bioclimatic stages but especially in semiarid and in a range of altitude varying from 800 to 1,000 m [38,[43][44][45].…”