The feeding time for sand fly females was determined experimentally by feeding of thirty females (3-5 days-old) sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi on different blood sources (human, pigeon, hamster and blab C mice). Mean feeding time was longest on blab C mice, 8.55 minutes, followed by hamster, 7.05 minutes, then pigeon, 4.84minutes, and finally human, 4.69 minutes. Significant difference was obser...

Leishmania parasites are inoculated into host skin together with sand fly saliva and multiple exposures to uninfected sand fly bites protect mice against Leishmania infection. However, sand fly vectors differ in composition of the saliva and therefore the protection elicited by their salivary proteins was shown to be species-specific. On the other hand, the optimal vaccine based on sand fly sal...

Phlebotomus perniciosus is one of the major vectors of Leishmania infantum in the Mediterranean basin. The aim of this work was (i) to provide information about abundance and temporal dynamics of this Larroussius species in a hot spot area of visceral leishmaniasis in Tunisia, (ii) to detect L. infantum DNA in wild caught female sandflies and (iii) to measure Phlebotomus perniciosus infection r...

Shirvan district in north-eastern Islamic Republic of Iran is a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis. This study aimed to identify the vector(s), the parasite and the species composition of sand flies in the district during July-September 2009 using polymerase chain reaction techniques. In all, 2088 sand flies were collected from 3 villages. Nine sand fly species were identified: Phlebotomus kan...

A faunistic study of Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) sand flies was carried out in northern Cyprus. A total of 12,517 sand flies (3,285 males and 9,232 females) was collected from 20 different localities in July and September 2004. Nine species belonging to genus Phlebotomus and 3 species of genus Sergentomyia were identified. Of these, the presence of the species Phlebotomus neglectus Ton...

BACKGROUND Geographical distribution of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) has continuously been extended in recent years in Iran. The Beiza District is one of the newly-emerged endemic foci of ZCL in southern Iran. The main aim of the present study was to detect the vector(s) of ZCL in this area. METHODS To detect the fauna and vectors of ZCL in this district, sand flies were caught usin...

Leishmaniases are vector-borne diseases transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. Three species of Leishmania are found in the Mediterranean basin: Leishmania infantum, the most common species responsible for both visceral (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL); Leishmania major, found in North Africa and Middle East causing CL; Leishmania tropica with a limited presence in Europe, causing CL. Dur...

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania infantum, transmitted to humans by bites of phlebotomine sand flies and is one of the most important public health problems in Iran. To identify the vector(s), an investigation was carried out in Bilesavar District, one of the important foci of the disease in Ardebil Province in northwestern Iran, during July-September 2008. METHODS Us...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The recently recognized endemic focus of leishmaniasis in Satluj river valley in Himachal Pradesh (India) lies in north-western Himalayas (30 degrees N, 70 degrees E). This endemic focus of leishmaniasis appears peculiar where localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) co-exists with visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and Leishmania donovani is predominant pathogen for LCL wherea...