Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the fauna, seasonal activity and the host preference of sand flies and to determine the main vectors of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Mohammad Abad, Kerman Province, southeast of Iran. Methods: Sand flies were collected indoors and outdoors by sticky paper traps from May to November, 2012. Regarding the importance of host preference and its impact on leishmaniasis control, blood meal was analyzed by the restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The cytochrome b mitochondrial genomic regions (mitochondrial DNA) and enzymatic digestion of Xho I and Hae III were used for the diagnosis of human blood feeding. In the detection of leptomonad (promastigote) infection in sand flies, a nested PCR method and high resolution melt analysis were exploited. Results: A total of 919 sand flies were identified as belonging to 14 species in two genera, namely, Phlebotomus spp. (5 species) and Sergentomyia spp. (9 species). The most frequently occurring species was Phlebotomus sergenti (P. sergenti) (67.46%), followed by Phlebotomus papatasi (19.37%). The highest indoor collection of P. sergenti was realized in late July, and the highest outdoor collection of P. sergenti ensued in early July. A total of 250 sand flies were collected for host preference analysis, and blood meals of 120 sand flies belonged to the species of P. sergenti were subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism confirmation. A total of 39 P. sergenti sand flies (32.5%) were identified to have fed on human. NestedPCR and high resolution melt analyses confirmed that these sand flies had been infected with Leishmania tropica. Conclusions: The present study has confirmed P. sergenti as the main Phlebotomine sand fly vector for anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica in Southeastern Iran.

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