Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is prevalent in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and previous research has consistently documented the etiologic agent to be Leishmania major. We report the first isolation of Leishmania tropica from human cases of CL in a Northern Sinai community bordering Palestine. Parasite culturing, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gene sequencing, and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses indicate CL cases in this community were caused by either L. major or L. tropica (three cases each). Two wild-caught rodents (Gerbillus pyramidum floweri) were infected with L. tropica. Phlebotomus papatasi sand flies were found harboring L. major, however only non-infected individuals of Phlebotomus sergenti, a vector for L. tropica, were caught. Patients with L. tropica had not traveled from the region in over a year, suggesting these cases are autochthonous. This scenario is consistent with an incursion of L. tropica from bordering countries and raises concerns about expansion of this parasite further into Egypt.

The bionomics of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) were studied for two successive years (January 1996-December 1997) at 12 collecting stations representing six sectors of the province of Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia. The predominant species was Phlebotomus bergeroti (41.7%), followed by lesser numbers of Phlebotomus sergenti (11%), Phlebotomus arabicus (10.6%), Sergentomyia tiberiadis (10.5%), Phlebotomus papatasi (10.2%), Sergentomyia antennata (9.6%), Phlebotomus alexandri (3%), Phlebotomus orientalis (2.3%) and Sergentomyia clydei (1.1%). The distribution of the collected species including species that are elsewhere known to act as vectors of human cutaneous leishmaniasis were distributed across different altitudes in Al-Baha. P. bergeroti, P. papatasi and P. arabicus were more abundant indoors; however, P. sergenti was more abundant outdoors. Sand fly populations exhibited three patterns of seasonal abundance in terms of their monthly activity. P. bergeroti, P. sergenti and P. arabicus were found to be naturally infected with Leishmania-like flagellates at an infection rate of 0.2%.

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Species composition, sex ratio and nocturnal activity of sandflies were studied in El Barth, a recent focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in North Sinai, Egypt. CDC light traps and sticky paper traps were used for insect collection. Two species of sandflies were identified; Phlebotomus papatasi and P. sergenti. P. papatasi constituted more than 82 % of the collected sandflies in the surveyed sites. Number of caught P. papatasi females was almost double that of males, however, it was slightly male biased in case of P. sergenti. Both sandfly species exhibited nocturnal activity and peaked at 24:00-2:00. This study might be a step towards a better understanding of vector population dynamics in this recent focus of CL. Using the results of this study, health workers in this area can better manage control and prevention tactics of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

A spot survey was conducted to study the sand fly fauna in Al-Baha province, Saudi Arabia. Six sand fly species belonging to the genus Phlebotomus and three to the genus Sergentomyia were identified. Phlebotomus bergeroti was the predominant species being recorded in all sites and represented 54.4 % of the identified flies. The remaining flies were P. sergenti (14.8%), P. arabicus (13.2 %), P. alexandri (5.3%), S. tiberiadis (4.9%), S. antennata (2.4%), S. clydei (2.1%), P. papatasi (1.5%), and P. orientalis (1.3%). The overall number of males collected (3458) was more than that of females (2637). Within the study period (April to December, 1995), sand flies were more active during the period from July to September. The collected fly species displayed different peaks between June and November. No Leishmania infection was found in any of the dissected females.