Author/Authors :
Rassi, Y. tehran university of medical sciences tums - School of Public Health - Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, تهران, ايران , Abai, M.R tehran university of medical sciences tums - School of Public Health - Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, تهران, ايران , Oshaghi, M.A. tehran university of medical sciences tums - School of Public Health - Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, تهران, ايران , Javadian, E. tehran university of medical sciences tums - School of Public Health - Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, تهران, ايران , Sanei, A. tehran university of medical sciences tums - School of Public Health - Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, تهران, ايران , Rafidzadeh, S. Ministry of Health and Medical Education - Center of Disease Control, ايران , Arzamani, K. North Khorassan University of Medical Sciences, ايران
Abstract :
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 kandelakii (Shchurenkova), P. major (Annandale), P. halepensis (Theodor), P. papatasi (Scopoli), P. sergenti (Parrot), P. longidactus (Parrot), P. caucasicus (Marzinovsky), Sergentomyia sintoni (Pringle) and S. sumbarica (Perfil’ev). P. sergenti and P. kandelakii were the most prevalent Phlebotomus species at 31.3% and 10.0% respectively. Of 59 female P. kandelakii, 2 (3.4%) were naturally infected with L. infantum. This is the first finding of natural infection of P. kandelakii by L. infantum in this region suggesting P. kandelakii may be the vector of L. infantum in the area although it is the second most prevalent phlebotomine species.
