BACKGROUND In East Africa, Phlebotomus orientalis serves as the main vector of Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Phlebotomus orientalis is present at two distant localities in Ethiopia; Addis Zemen where VL is endemic and Melka Werer where transmission of VL does not occur. To find out whether the difference in epidemiology of VL is due to distant composit...

Investigations on the biology of Phlebotomus papatasi were carried out under laboratory conditions at 28 +/- 2 degrees C and 80 +/- 1% RH. Fecundity of the female varied between 61 and 48 (mean 56.2 +/- 5.46) and the incubation period of eggs ranged from 7-9 (mean 7.81 +/- 0.61) days. The developmental duration of larvae and pupae varied from 24 to 31 (mean 28.57 +/- 2.71) and 9 to 11 (mean 10....

BACKGROUND Leishmania major complex is the main causative agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in the Old World. Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus duboscqi are recognized vectors of L. major complex in Northern and Southern Sahara, respectively. In Mali, ZCL due to L. major is an emerging public health problem, with several cases reported from different parts of the country. The m...

A new species of Phlebotomine sand fly (Diptera: Psychodidae) is described from Mikea Forest in the southwest of Madagascar: Phlebotomus vincenti n. sp. It is temporarily classified in the subgenus Anaphlebotomus according to its spermathecal organization, similar to those of P. berentiensis, P. fertei and P. vaomalalae, previously classified in the subgenus Anaphlebotomus referring to on male ...

Phlebotomine sandflies of the genus Sergentomyia are widely distributed throughout the Old World. It has been suggested that Sergentomyia spp are involved in the transmission of Leishmania in India and Africa, whereas Phlebotomus spp are thought to be the sole vectors of Leishmania in the Old World. In this study, Leishmania major DNA was detected in one Sergentomyia minuta specimen that was co...

an investigation was carried out in ahar district, (a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis), eastern azerbaijan, north-west of iran in order to determine the vector(s) of the disease, during the summer of 2003 sand-flies were collected using sticky papers, cdc light traps and aspirators. all of the collected sand-flies were dissected in a drop of normal saline for surveying of promastigotes. hea...

Background: Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) due to Leishmania major is increasing in many parts of Iran. This disease originally is a disease found in gerbils. Leishmania parasites are transmitted by sandflies that live and breed in gerbil burrows. Nested PCR amplified Leishmania ITS1-5.8S rRNA gene in both main reservoir host “Rhombomys opimus” and in the “Phlebotomus papatasi” main vec...