Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera, Phlebotomidae) of Lanzarote Island (Canary Islands, Spain): Ecological survey and evaluation of the risk of Leishmania transmission

Abstract

Phlebotomine sandflies are natural vectors of Leishmania spp. and their expansion throughout has been evidenced in the last few years due to the global warming and changes in human behavior, worsening leishmaniasis problem. However, phlebotomine sandflies have been captured in small numbers on the Canary Islands, particularly on the island of Lanzarote, where only one limited survey was carried out almost thirty years ago. The proximity of this island to Morocco, in addition to the high number of tourists, sometimes accompanied by their dogs, from leishmaniasis endemic regions, highlights the importance of studying the sandfly fauna on this island in order to determine the transmission risk of leishmaniasisThirty-eight sampling sites spread across the island were studied, and ecological features were gathered to identify the ecological traits associated to the presence of sandflies. Only 85 sandfly specimens were captured (1.18/m2) with the following species distribution: Sergentomyia minuta (0.15 specimens/m2), which was reported for the first time on this island, and S. fallax (1.03/m2). Sandfly captured were achieved in only 7 out of 38 stations. No specimen of the Phlebotomus genus was captured and given that none of the species captured has been demonstrated vectors of human pathogenic Leishmania and considering that they were captured in low frequency and density, it can be concluded that the current leishmaniasis transmission risk is null.