Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a disease caused by various Leishmania spp., which are transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. Algeria is one of the most affected countries, with thousands of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases registered every year. From March to November of 2016 and 2017, sand flies were collected in 12 municipalities in Setif province, North-Eastern Algeria. Sand flies were identified and females were tested by PCR for detecting Leishmania DNA. Additionally, cutaneous leishmaniasis cases notified during the study period were analysed. Out of 1804 sand flies collected, 1737 were identified as belonging to seven species, with Phlebotomus perniciosus (76.2%), Ph. papatasi (16.7%) and Ph. sergenti (5.0%) being the most common species, representing together 97.9% of the collected specimens. The remaining specimens were identified as Sergentomyia minuta, Se. fallax, Ph. longicuspis and Ph. perfiliewi. The number of sand flies collected monthly was positively correlated with temperature. Out of 804 females tested, nine Ph. perniciosus (1.1%) scored positive for Leishmania infantum (n = 5), L. major (n = 3) and L. tropica (n = 1), respectively. During the study period, 34 cutaneous leishmaniasis cases were notified in Setif, of which 58.8% were patients residing in two urban and peri-urban municipalities and 41.2% in rural areas. The finding of Ph. perniciosus as the most abundant species in Setif suggests that this sand fly may be adapted to different biotopes in the North-East region of Algeria. The detection of different Leishmania spp. in Ph. perniciosus suggests a complex epidemiological picture of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Setif, with the involvement of different etiological agents and possibly with different reservoir hosts and vectors.
Highlights
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) are hematophagous insects involved in the transmission of viruses (Bunyaviridae, Reoviridae and Rhabdoviridae), bacteria (Bartonella bacilliformis) and protozoa (Leishmania spp.) to animals and humans [1,2,3]
Leishmaniasis is a group of neglected diseases, with more than 350 million people at risk and 2 million new cases every year
In spite of the scientific knowledge gained over the last decades, the understanding of the biology and the ecology of sand flies in some areas of Algeria is still fragmentary
Summary
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) are hematophagous insects involved in the transmission of viruses (Bunyaviridae, Reoviridae and Rhabdoviridae), bacteria (Bartonella bacilliformis) and protozoa (Leishmania spp.) to animals and humans [1,2,3]. In Algeria, 24 sand fly species of the genera Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia have been identified, with Phlebotomus perniciosus, Ph. perfiliewi, Ph. longicuspis, Ph. papatasi and Ph. sergenti being proven or suspected vectors of Leishmania spp. to humans [11,12]. Data about the environmental factors that may affect the dispersion and population dynamics of sand flies, are still poor understood in some areas of this country. This is the case of Setif province, where 1288 cases of human CL and 501 of VL have been reported to the public health authorities from 1993 to 2017. We analysed data on CL cases notified in Setif during the study period
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