Relation between phlebotomine sand flies composition and the occurrence of leishmaniasis in Pre-Saharan region, Biskra Algeria

Abstract

Both visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) exist in Algeria and are increasingly becoming a serious public health problem. This work aims to study the diversity of phlebotomine sand flies and its impact on leishmania incidence in the region of Biskra. The recorded diversity of sand flies showed the presence of ten species belonging to two genera; Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia. The occurrence of the sand fly species revealed that P. papatasi and S. minuta were the most abundant species covering all sites. The epidemiological survey showed that the number cases of CL and VL differ from site to another. While Biskra city was the most vulnerable to sand fly bites, accounting for 33% of the total number of CL cases. Therefore, Tolga municipality was the most affected by VL with 25% from recorded cases. While this result contributes to the existing survey of sand fly vectors in Biskra region, it is important to consider that seasonal fluctuations of phlebotomine insects which are varied across the year, affecting both the abundance of individual species and the diversity composition and their subsequent response to climatic variation.