Fauna and species composition of sand flies’ vector of Leishmania in Mehran County, Ilam Province in 2018

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Tahereh Gordani 1
َAbdlhossein Dalimi 2
1 ِDepartment of Medical Entomology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University
2 Parasitology Department,, Medical Sciences Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University
10.22034/pjms.2026.2088916.1284
Abstract
Introduction: Leishmania is a protozoan transmitted by sandflies. Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ZCL) caused by Leishmania major spreads among rodent populations and is eventually transmitted to humans. Ilam province has been one of the most important foci of this disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and abundance, seasonal activity and to determine the dominant species of sandfly in Mehran County, Ilam province.
Methods: This study was performed during two seasons in the peak activity of sandflies, in the spring and autumn of 2018. In this study, the standard method of sticky traps was used to collect samples of sandflies inside and outside the houses in the area. By installing 400 traps during these two seasons, 2860 sandflies was totally collected and examined for species detection using a valid identification key.
Results: According to morphological studies, 9 species of Phlebotomus papatasi, Ph. sergenti, Ph. alexandri, Ph. Mesghali, Sergentomyia sintoni, S. antennata, S. tiberiadis, S. squaminpleuris, S. iranica were identified, while Ph. papatasi and S. sintoni with 62.52% and 22% showed the highest frequency in the region, respectively.
Conclusion: In this region, the most frequent sandfly was identified as Ph. papatasi. Given the importance of this species in disease transmission, having knowledge and awareness of their population dynamics changes will be useful in recognizing the ways of transmission of leishmaniasis and its control.
Keywords
Sandfly
Phlebotomus papatasi
Species composition
Mehran
Iran
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