Bionomics of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) as vectors of leishmaniasis in the County of Iranshahr, Sistan-Baluchistan Province, Southeast of Iran

Background : Leishmaniasis is one of the most important human´s vector-borne diseases. This parasitic disease can cause by many species of Leishmania and transmitted by several species of sand fly species. In order to determine fauna and species combination of sand flies, an investigation was carried out in Iranshahr County, Sistan-Bluchistan Province,Southeast of Iran during 1997. Materials and methods: Sand flies were collected by using sticky traps from selected villages (outdoors as well as indoors). Traps were fixed at sundown and sand flies were collected at sunrise. The indices of diversity, species richness and evenness of species were calculated using the appropriate formulas. The specimens were identified according to keys. Results: Totally, 7794 sand flies comprising of Phlebotomus genus (32.9%) and Sergentomyia genus (67.1%) were collected. These sand flies consisted of: P. papatasi, P. alexandri, P. sergenti, P. kazeruni, P. bergeroti, P. mesghali, P. salehi, P. eleanorae, P. keshishiani, S. clydei, S. tiberiadis, S. hodgsoni, S. sintoni, S. mervynae, S. baghdadis, S. christophersi, S. dentata, S. dreyfussi, S. iranica, S. palestinensis and S. sumbarica. The predominant species were S. clydei, S. tiberiadis and P. papatasi respectively. During this study, P. eleanorae, P. keshishiani, P. mesghali, S. christophersi, S. dreyfussi, S. hodgsoni, S. iranica, S. mervynae, S. palestinensis and S. sumbarica are reported for the first time from Iranshahr County. Conclusion: Based on the results, the vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis include of P. papatasi, P. salehi, P. sergenti and moreover the vectors of visceral leishmaniasis include of P. keshishiani and P. alexandri have been found.