Browsing by Subject "Phlebotomus"

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    A spatial ecology study in a high-diversity host community to understand blood-feeding behaviour in Phlebotomus sandfly vectors of Leishmania
    (Wiley, 2020-01-13) Pérez Cutillas, P.; Muñoz, C.; Martínez de la Puente, J.; Figuerola, J.; Navarro, R.; Ortuño, M.; Bernal, L. J.; Ortiz Sánchez, J.; Soriguer, R. C.; Berriatua, E.; Sanidad Animal
    Molecular studies indicate that Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) blood feed on many vertebrate species, of which only a few are proven parasite reservoirs. Investigating sandfly vector feeding preferences is therefore important and requires taking into account the availability and accessibility of host species. In terms of the latter, it is necessary to consider the metabolic cost to the insect of reaching the host and moving on to a suitable breeding site. The present study used statistical modelling to compare the feeding patterns of Phlebotomus perniciosus (n = 150), Phlebotomus papatasi (n = 35) and Phlebotomus ariasi (n = 7) on each of an average of 30 host species in a wildlife park in Murcia, Spain. Sandfly feeding movement costs were estimated as a function of the distance and altitude gradients saved by the insect, assuming that they displayed ‘site fidelity’. Most (87%) engorged females were caught <100 m from the host on which they had fed. Although the percentage of bloodmeals was highest on fallow deer (Dama dama) (30%) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) (26%), the predicted feeding probability after considering movement cost was highest for red deer and common eland (Taurotragus oryx), and positively associated with host census. These results suggest that, under similar circumstances, sandflies prefer to feed on some host species more than on others.
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    Density assessment and reporting for Phlebotomus perniciosus and other sand fy species in periurban residential estates in Spain
    (2021-09) Muñoz Hernández, Clara; Risueño Iranzo, José; Pérez Cutillas, Pedro; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Ortiz Sánchez, Juana; Ruiz de Ybáñez Carnero, María del Rocío; Sánchez-López, P.F.; Martínez Carrasco-Pleite, Carlos; Del Río Alonso, Laura; De la Rúa Tarín, Pilar; García Martínez, Juan Diego; Murcia, Laura; Collantes Alcaraz, Francisco; Spitzova, T.; Elshanat, S.; Berriatua Fernández de Larrea, Eduardo; Goyena Salgado, Elena; Gonzálvez Juan, Moisés; Sanidad Animal
    Green periurban residential areas in Mediterranean countries have flourished in the last decades and become foci for leishmaniasis. To remedy the absence of information on vector ecology in these environments, we examined phlebotomine sand fly distribution in 29 sites in Murcia City over a 3-year period, including the plots of 20 detached houses and nine non-urbanized sites nearby. We collected 5,066 specimens from five species using "sticky" interception and light attraction traps. The relative frequency of the main Leishmania infantum vector Phlebotomus perniciosus in these traps was 32% and 63%, respectively. Sand fly density was widely variable spatially and temporally and greatest in non-urbanized sites, particularly in caves and abandoned buildings close to domestic animal holdings. Phlebotomus perniciosus density in house plots was positively correlated with those in non-urbanized sites, greatest in larger properties with extensive vegetation and non-permanently lived, but not associated to dog presence or a history of canine leishmaniasis. Within house plots, sand fly density was highest in traps closest to walls. Furthermore, the study provides a guideline for insect density assessment and reporting and is envisioned as a building block towards the development of a pan-European database for robust investigation of environmental determinants of sand fly distribution.
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    Effect of high-volume insecticide spraying on sand fly vectors in household gardens in Spain
    (Wiley, 2023-06-01) Ortuño Tomás, Ana María; Muñoz Hernández, Clara; Risueño Iranzo, José; Jumakanova, Zarima; Farinella, Alessia; Vaselek, Slavica; Bernal, Luis J.; Sánchez-López, Pedro F.; Collantes Alcaraz, Francisco; Ruiz de Ybáñez Carnero, María del Rocío; Martínez-Carrasco Pleite, Carlos; Pérez Cutillas, Pedro; Berriatua Fernández de Larrea, Eduardo; Sanidad Animal
    This study investigated the efficacy of high-volume spraying with the adulticide α-cypermethrin alone and in combination with the larvicide diflubenzuron on the density of sand flies in gardens of three detached households in periurban areas in southeast Spain. Treatments were applied four times between June and August 2016, and four nearby sites, two households and two non-urbanized sites, were untreated controls. The number of sand flies collected between May and October 2016 using sticky interception and light attraction traps, was 4446 specimens. Species identified morphologically included Sergentomyia minuta (n = 2101; 48%), Phlebotomus perniciosus (n = 1922; 44%), Phlebotomus papatasi (n = 173; 4%), Phlebotomus sergenti (n = 161; 4%) and Phlebotomus ariasi (n = 36; 1%). Sand flies were detected in both treated and untreated sites. The proportion of positive sticky traps and the median (range) density of sand flies in positive traps were 61% traps and 7 (2–172) sand flies/m2/day in untreated sites, and 43% traps and 4 (1–56) sand flies/m2/day in treated sites (p < 0.05). Similarly, for light traps, it was 96% traps and 30 (3–168) flies/trap/day, and 83% traps and 3 (1–12) sand flies/trap/day, respectively (p < 0.05). However, sand fly density followed a comparable seasonal pattern in untreated and treated sites and did not consistently decrease following insecticide applications. These results were confirmed with mixed negative binomial modelling of sand fly density adjusted for time since application, month, environmental setting and site. The limited efficacy of the treatments, added to their cost, the impact of insecticides on non-target organisms and human health, and the risk of development of insecticide resistance, should dissuade similar outdoor applications to control sand fly vector populations in residential areas.
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    Estudio de las poblaciones de flebotomos (Diptera, Psychodidae) de la Comunidad de Madrid (España)
    (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones, 1997) Conesa Gallego, Encarnación; Romera Lozano, Elena; Martínez Ortega, Ezequiel; Facultad de Biología
    En el estudio entomológico sobre flebotomos, llevado a cabo en la Comunidad de Madrid, se capturó un total de 31.161 ejemplares pertenecientes a 7 especies. Entre estas especies cabe destacar Sergentomyia minuta (Rondani, 1843) y Phlebotomus perniciosus Newstead, 1911, como las especies más abundantes y comunes. Así mismo se aportan tres nuevas especies a la lista de flebotomos de la provincia de Madrid: Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli, 1786), Phlebotomus longicuspis Nitzulescu, 1930 y Phlebotomus langeroni Nitzulescu, 1930. Se estudian diferentes aspectos de las comunidades de flebotomos: riqueza específica, frecuencia, convivencia, afinidad interespecífica y diversidad específica, lo que permite conocer, en parte, la estructura de dichas comunidades.
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    On howtrap positioning affects phlebotomine sand fly density estimations
    (Wiley, 2021-09) Muñoz, C.; Pérez Cutillas, P.; Berriatua, E.; Ortiz Sánchez, Juana; Sanidad Animal
    There is a need for standardizing sand fly sampling methodology and guidance on trap positioning for quantitative sand fly studies. We investigated differences in sand fly density with ‘sticky’ interception and CO2-light attraction traps, in relation to trap distance to the ground and the presence or absence of a continuous or discontinuous (wire mesh) vertical surface adjacent to the trap. The study, conducted in a dog kennel in southeast Spain, lasted 48 days and collected 692 Phlebotomus papatasi, P. perniciosus, P. ariasi and Sergentomyia minuta specimens. There were no significant differences between species with respect to trap position. Overall, density in sticky traps was highest closest to the ground and next to the continuous vertical surface, followed sequentially by traps similarly placed adjacent to the wire mesh and those hanging from a rope across the kennel yard. In contrast, density in CO2-light traps was highest in traps hanging from the rope near the ground, followed by those next to the continuous vertical surface. The overall negative relationship between sand fly density and ground distance was not significant for CO2-light traps next to the continuous vertical surface. Modelling also suggested that sand flies do not use the wire mesh to move vertically.
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    The role of zoological centers as reservoirs of leish-maniosis in urban areas
    (2017) Ruiz de Ybáñez Carnero, María del Rocío; Rodríguez-Linde, J. M.; Berriatua Fernández de Larrea, Eduardo; Risueño, J; Ortiz, J; Gonzálvez Juan, Moisés
    SUMMARY A questionnaire to evaluate the importance of Leishmaniosis in zoological centers was designed to gather information about suspected and confirmed clinical cases of the disease. The questionnaire was sent to members of the Iberian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (n=38). Although a limited response (26.32%) was obtained three suspected and three verified cases were reported suggesting Leishmaniosis is a disease of little relevance in zoos. A further study was carried out to analyze the presence and persistence of infected animals and vectors in Oasys zoological center in southeast Spain where a wolf with leishmaniosis was diagnosed eight years before. RealTime PCR from skin biopsies of eight carnivorous was performed and fifty percent (n=4) were positive (three swift foxes (Vulpes velox) and one tiger Panthera tigris). Furthermore, 70 sand flies were captured using castor-oil sticky interception traps and were identified using morphological and DNA barcoding methods as Phlebotumus perniciosus (76.90%), P. papatasi (12.30%), Sergentomyia minuta (7.60%) and P. ariasi (3%). Sand fly abundance was greatest in areas protected from direct sunlight. Our results suggest that animals in zoological centers could be reservoirs of Leishmania spp. However more studies are needed to assess the epidemiological implications of these presumed hosts