Environmental effects on phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera:Phychodidae) and implications for sand fly vector disease transmission in Corrientes city, northern Argentina

Abstract

We evaluated species richness, abundance, alpha diversity, and true diversity of Phlebotominae sand fl ies temporal changes in domiciles within the northern Argentina city of Corrientes. A total of 16 sampling nights were conducted seasonally throughout the years 2012-2014 through light traps supplemented with CO 2 . Meteorological and remote sensing environmental factors were used to assessed for vectors implications in disease transmission through Generalized Mixt Models. Lutzomyia longipalpis was the most abundant and common species, followed by Nyssomyia neivai and Migonemyia migonei. Lutzomyia longipalpis was more abundant in urban areas, Ny. neivai was associated with vegetation in periurban areas, both were found all sampling years with higher abundance during the rainy season. Positive association of Lu. longipalpis with precipitation and relative humidity and negative association with temperature were observed. Models showed humidity and vegetation as making effects on Lu. longipalpis abundance. Precipitation was signifi cant for Mg. migonei models, with higher abundance in periurban and periurban-rural environments. For Ny. neivai models, relative humidity was the most important variable, followed by precipitation frequency. Our fi ndings led to identify high risk areas and develop predictive models. These are useful for public health stakeholders giving tolls to optimized resources aim to prevent leshmaniasis transmission on the area.

Spatial Statistics in Vector-Borne Diseases

“…Another example is the work of Estallo et al [22] in 2021, which evaluated the species responsible for the transmission of Leishmaniasis (phlebotom-Phlebotominae) during the period 2012 À 2014 in northern Argentina. Through Generalized Linear Mixed Models, the implications of vectors in disease transmission were evaluated, using meteorological and teledetection environmental factors.…”

Online catalogue of the Coleção de Flebotomíneos (FIOCRUZ/COLFLEB), a biological collection of American sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) held at Fiocruz Minas, Brazil

“…The data associated with the biological specimens deposited in FIOCRUZ/COLFLEB are of importance because they (i) describe the distribution of sand flies in different parts of Brazil, and (ii) have a good temporal coverage – some specimens date back to 1939, while the most recent deposit was recorded in 2021. These data can be used for many different applications, in different research areas, including taxonomy and systematics [ 5 – 7 ] , and ecological niche modelling [ 8 ] , among others [ 9 ] , to vector control activities [ 19 , 20 ] . …”

“…Os dados associados aos espécimes biológicos depositados na FIOCRUZ/COLFLEB são importantes porque (i) descrevem a distribuição dos flebotomíneos em diferentes partes do Brasil, e (ii) têm uma boa cobertura temporal – alguns espécimes datam de 1939, enquanto o depósito mais recente foi registrado em 2021. Esses dados podem ser usados para muitas aplicações diferentes, em diferentes áreas de pesquisa, incluindo taxonomia e sistemática [ 5 – 7 ] , e modelagem de nicho ecológico [ 8 ] , entre outros [ 9 ] , para subsidiar atividades de controle [ 19 , 20 ] . …”