Introudction:

Shiraz city is one of the most important foci of urban and rural cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran and no study has been carried out on sand flies fauna in this district. This study aimed to investigate and determine the probable vectors of the urban and rural cutaneous leishmaniasis in this district.

Materials and Methods:

In this descriptive study, the sand flies were collected by sticky trap in June, July and September 2007 in various areas of Shiraz city and the nearby villages. The preyed sand flies were identified by Nadim & Javadian key.    

Results:

From 1322 collected sand flies, one sub-genus from Sergentomyia genus (Grassomyia spp) and 10 other species consisting of 3 species from Phlebotomus genus (P. papatasi, P. tobbi, P. sergenti) and 7 from Sergentomyia genus were identified. Out of them, P. papatasi in 8 regions, P. sergenti in 2 regions and S. sintoni in 1 region from 11 investigated regions were determined as predominant species.

Conclusion:

P. papatasi was predominant around Shiraz and nearby villages. This implies the existence of P. papatasi as the probable vector of rural cutaneous leishmaniasis.  Moreover, P. sergenti was predominant in the urban areas of Shiraz city, revealing the existence of P. sergenti as the probable vector of urban cutaneous leishmaniasis in these regions. In order to determine the principal vectors of urban and rural cutaneous leishmaniasis, a molecular survey of vectors is required.