The sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the Turkish province of Hatay: some possible vectors of the parasites causing human cutaneous leishmaniasis

Abstract

The province of Hatay, which lies on the Mediterranean coast in south-eastern Turkey, forms an important endemic area for human cutaneous leishmaniasis (HCL). Between the June and November of 2001, the sandflies in eight areas of the province, Erzin, Dortyol, Iskenderun, Kirikhan, Antakya, Samandag, Altinozu and Yayladagi, were surveyed, using sticky-paper traps placed in goat, sheep, cow or chicken sheds close to houses. Although 217 of the 998 sandflies caught belonged to the genus Sergentomyia, the rest were of Phlebotomus species, including some species that, elsewhere, are known to act as vectors of the parasites causing HCL. The Sergentomyia caught were either S. theodori (59.9%) or S. dentata (40.1%). Most of the Phlebotomus were P. sergenti (60.8%) but P. papatasi (18.8%), P. syriacus (9.3%), P. neglectus (5.1%), P. tobbi (2.7%), P. simici (2.2%), P. alexandri (0.9%) and P. kyreniae (0.1%) were also identified (the latter three species for the first time in Hatay province). The identification of the main vector species of sandfly in the province is complicated because it is still uncertain which Leishmania species cause(s) the local HCL. It seems likely, however, that P. sergenti is the main vector in Antakya, Iskenderun, Dortyol, Erzin and Kirikhan. In areas such as Altinozu and Yayladagi, where, although P. sergenti is very rare or absent, HCL cases still occur each year, other species, such as the relatively abundant P. papatasi and P. syriacus, may be the main vectors.

An inventory of the phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) found in the Turkish province of Konya

“…April, May and October were even cooler months and also relatively wet months (Table 4). Similar seasonality in catch numbers was observed in the Turkish province of Hatay (Yaman and Ö zbel, 2004).…”

“…minutus', however, seem to fit a species of Sergentomyia (probably one of the two species caught in the present study: S. dentata or S. theodori). Akalin's identification of P. perniciosus has also to be questioned, since, with the possible exception of a report by Yasarol in 1980(Lewis, 1982 -which was probably referring back to Akalin (1941) (Yasarol and Ö zler, 1982) this species has never been detected in any other study in Turkey (Houin et al, 1971;Erel, 1973;Daldal et al, 1989Daldal et al, , 1998Depaquit et al, 1998Depaquit et al, , 2002Alptekin et al, 1999;Volf et al, 2002;Yaman and Ö zbel. 2004).…”

“…In previous studies on sandflies in Turkey, six species of Sergentomyia (S. pawlowskyi, S. dentata, S. theodori, S. minuta, S. adleri and S. fallax) and 18 of Phlebotomus -five in the subgenus Adlerius (P. kyreniae, P. balcanicus, P. brevis, P. halepensis and P. simici), eight in the subgenus Larroussius (P. kandelakii, P. tobbi, P. mascittii, P. perfiliewi, P. galileaus, P. syriacus, P. neglectus and P. wenyoni), four in Paraphlebotomus (P. sergenti, P. jacusieli, P. alexandri and P. kazeruni) and just one in the subgenus Phlebotomus (P. papatasi) -have been reported (Akalin, 1941;Houin et al, 1971;Erel, 1973;Daldal et al, 1989Daldal et al, , 1998Depaquit et al, 1998Depaquit et al, , 2002Alptekin et al, 1999;Volf et al, 2002;Yaman and Ö zbel, 2004). In the present study, 12 -Kendrick, 1990-Kendrick, , 1999.…”

“…So far, only six species of Sergentomyia and 18 of Phlebotomus (belonging to subgenera Adlerius, Larroussius, Paraphlebotomus or Phlebotomus) have been detected in Turkey (Akalin, 1941;Houin et al, 1971;Erel, 1973;Daldal et al, 1989Daldal et al, , 1998Depaquit et al, 1998Depaquit et al, , 2002Alptekin et al, 1999;Volf et al, 2002;Yaman and Ö zbel, 2004). Nine of the Phlebotomus species are proven or probable vectors of parasites causing human leishmaniasis in the Old World (Killick-Kendrick, 1990).…”

Genetic structures of sand fly (Diptera: Psychodidae) populations in a leishmaniasis endemic region of Turkey

“…Two clinical types of leishmaniasis exist in Turkey. Human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania tropica Wright, 1903 (Alptekin et al 1999, Akman et al 2000, Volf et al 2002) and L. infantum Nicolle 1908 (Serin et al 2005, Svobodova et al 2009), which is highly endemic in south and southeast Anatolia, and human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by L. infantum , which is endemic along the Aegean and Mediterranean costs and occurs sporadically in other regions (Ozbel et al 1995, Ok et al 2002, Volf et al 2002, Yaman and Ozbel 2004).…”