Sir, Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a protozoan disease present in Old and New Worlds (1, 2). It is endemic in the Mediterranian basin, particularly in the rural areas of Sicily where almost 60% of Italian cases occur. The disease is caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania infantum, carried by specific species of sandflies as Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus perfiliewi perfiliewi (3...

A total of 131 phlebotomine Algerian sandflies have been processed in the present study. They belong to the species Phlebotomus bergeroti, Phlebotomus alexandri, Phlebotomus sergenti, Phlebotomus chabaudi, Phlebotomus riouxi, Phlebotomus perniciosus, Phlebotomus longicuspis, Phlebotomus perfiliewi, Phlebotomus ariasi, Phlebotomus chadlii, Sergentomyia fallax, Sergentomyia minuta, Sergentomyia a...

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the principal vectors of phleboviruses and Leishmania spp., causative agents leishmaniases. The Mediterranean fly fauna is diverse, leishmaniasis, mainly caused by infantum, endemic in Balkan countries. Despite recent entomological surveys, only some districts Kosovo have been sampled for flies, with no proof/confirmation L. infantum. This stud...

In the genealogy of Phlebotomus (Diptera: Psychodidae), morphological analyses have indicated that the subgenus Larroussius is a monophyletic group which is most closely related to the subgenera Transphlebotomus and Adlerius. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the relationships among six representative species of the subgenus Larroussius and one species representatitive of the Phlebotomus ...

The island of Corfu is an endemic area of human leishmaniasis, mainly visceral and secondly cutaneous. In August 1996, a survey of phlebotomine sandflies was conducted throughout the whole island. Using castor-oil paper traps, a total of 2,615 sandflies were caught. The following species were identified: 450 (17.21%) Phlebotomus neglectus, 213 (8.15%) P. tobbi, 129 (4.93%) P. perfiliewi, 12 (0....

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, c...

Sandflies are widely distributed around the Mediterranean Basin. Therefore, human populations in this area are potentially exposed to sandfly-transmitted diseases, including those caused by phleboviruses. Whilst there are substantial data in countries located in the northern part of the Mediterranean basin, few data are available for North Africa. In this study, a total of 1489 sandflies were c...

background: algeria is among the most affected mediterranean countries by leishmaniasis due to its large geo­graphic extent and climatic diversity. the current study aimed to determine the ecological status (composition and diversity) of phlebotomine sandfly populations in the region of oum el bouaghi (northeast algeria). methods: an entomological survey was conducted during the period may–octo...

BACKGROUND In the Old World, sandfly species of the genus Phlebotomus are known vectors of Leishmania, Bartonella and several viruses. Recent sandfly catches and autochthonous cases of leishmaniasis hint on spreading tendencies of the vectors towards Central Europe. However, studies addressing potential future distribution of sandflies in the light of a changing European climate are missing. ...

The prevalence, host preference, and rate of Leishmania spp. infection of sand fly species are important parameters for incrimination of parasite vectors. We applied polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods to detect Leishmania spp. parasites and blood meals within individual sand flies in the most important visceral leishmaniasis (VL) focus in...