Journal of Medical Entomology (2003) 40, 321-328

Samir S. Sawalha, Muhamad S. Shtayeh, Haroun M. Khanfar, Alon Warburg and Ziad A. Abdeen (2003)
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) of the Palestinian West Bank: Potential vectors of leishmaniasis
Journal of Medical Entomology 40 (3), 321-328
Abstract: Two forms of leishmaniasis are endemic to the Jenin district in the northern region of the West Bank. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by Leishmania infantum, mainly affects infants. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) affects a broader age group and is probably caused by L. tropica. Although the Jenin district is the most important focus of leishmaniasis in the West Bank, the sand fly fauna of the area has never been studied in a systematic manner. We collected base-line data on sand fly species, their distribution, and their feeding preferences to facilitate risk assessments for contracting leishmaniasis. Light traps, sticky traps, insecticide knockdown collections, aspirator, and human-landing collections were used. A total of 4,082 sand flies was collected in foci of confidence limits and/or VL between June and December 1998. Nine Phlebotomus species representing seven subgenera were identified: P. (Larroussius) perfiliewi transcaucasicus Perfil'ev, P. (La.) tobbi Adler and Theodor, P. (La.) mascitti canaaniticus Adler and Theodor, P. (La.) mascitti mascitti Grassi, P. (La.) syriacus Adler and Theodor, P. (Phlebotomus) papatasi Scopoli, P. (Synphlebotomus) s.p., P. (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti Parrot, P. (Par.) jacusieli Theodor, P. (Adlerius) halepensis Theodor. Two other Phlebotomus subspecies, P. (La.) major major Annandale, P. (La.) neglectus Tonnoir, require confirmation. In addition, four species of the closely related genus, Sergentomyia were also found: S. (Sergentomyia) theodori Parrot, S. (S.) fallax Parrot, S. (Sintonius) tiberiadis Adler, Theodor and Lourie, S. (Sin.) christophersi Sinton. Among five species of sand flies collected on human bait, P. papatasi constituted >90% followed by P. major syriacus (8%) and P. mascitti (2%). Sand fly human-biting activity occurred through the night and it was highest between 2400 and 0300 hours. P. papatasi. P. perfiliewi, P, major and P. tobbi were the more endophilic species constituting 93% of all flies caught indoors. Seven Phlebotomus spp. constitute potential vectors of leishmaniasis but the most probable ones are as follows: P. papatasi the main human-biting species, a recognized vector of L. major (CL), P. sergenti, L. tropica (CL) and P. syriacus, L. infantum (VL).
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Ziad A. Abdeen, Alon Warburg

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Phlebotomus papatasi		Palestinian Territories
	Phlebotomus sergenti		Palestinian Territories
	Phlebotomus major		Palestinian Territories
	Phlebotomus perfiliewi		Palestinian Territories
	Phlebotomus mascittii		Palestinian Territories
	Phlebotomus syriacus		Palestinian Territories