Abstract
BackgroundPhlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are haematophagous insects that transmit the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), the main causative agent of both zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in the Mediterranean basin. Eight species of sand flies have been previously recorded in Romania: Phlebotomus papatasi, Phlebotomus alexandri, Phlebotomus sergenti, Phlebotomus perfiliewi, Phlebotomus neglectus, Phlebotomus longiductus, Phlebotomus balcanicus and Sergentomyia minuta. Three of them (P. perfiliewi, P. neglectus and P. balcanicus) were incriminated as vectors of L. infantum. Recent reports of autochthonous CanL in Romania require updates on sand fly distribution and diversity in this country.MethodsBetween 2013–2014 and 2016–2018, CDC light traps and mouth aspirators were used to collect sand flies in 132 locations from Romania, indoors and around various animal species shelters. Species identification of collected specimens was done using morphological keys, genetic tools and MALDI-TOF protein profiling.ResultsSand flies were present in seven localities (5.3%): Eibenthal, Baia Nouă, Gura Văii (south-western Romania, Mehedinţi County); Fundătura, Pâhneşti, Epureni (eastern Romania, Vaslui County); and Schitu (southern Romania, Giurgiu County). Of the total number of collected sand flies (n = 251), 209 (83.27%) were Phlebotomus neglectus, 39 (15.53%) P. perfiliewi, 1 (0.40%) P. papatasi, 1 (0.40%) P. balcanicus and 1 (0.40%) P. sergenti (sensu lato).ConclusionsWe confirmed the presence of five sand fly species previously recorded in Romania. However, their updated distribution differs from historical data. The diversity of sand fly species in Romania and their presence in areas with Mediterranean climatic influences constitutes a threat for the reemergence of vector-borne diseases. In the context of CanL and VL reemergence in Romania, but also due to imported cases of the diseases in both humans and dogs, updates on vector distribution are imperative.
Highlights
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are haematophagous insects that transmit the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), the main causative agent of both zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in the Mediterranean basin
Three vectors of VL and CanL caused by L. infantum were recorded in Romania: Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perfiliewi Parrot, 1930; Phlebotomus (Larroussius) neglectus Tonnoir, 1921; and Phlebotomus (Adlerius) balcanicus Theodor, 1948
As no later update regarding the species composition of sand flies is available in Romania our study aimed to bring new data on their distribution and diversity
Summary
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are haematophagous insects that transmit the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), the main causative agent of both zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in the Mediterranean basin. Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are haematophagous insects demonstrated to transmit the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, the main causative agent of both zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in the Mediterranean region [1]. (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti Parrot, 1917; Phlebotomus (Adlerius) longiductus Parrot, 1928; and Sergentomyia (Sergentomyia) minuta (Rondani, 1843) Their historical distribution and diversity in Romania were reported by various authors between 1910 and 1971 [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. New cases of imported CanL cases in Romania were reported [24, 25] which raised the question of possible incrimination of locally available, vector competent species in the trigger of further local transmission
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