Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis: reservoir host and insect vector in north Sinai, Egypt

Abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is a protozoan disease well documented not only in Egypt, but in nearly all the East Mediterranean Countries. Sinai Peninsula was a sparsely populated area where sporadic cases of ZCL were reported with the reconstruction of Sinai and people coming in and out, it was indicated to study the status of ZCL in North Sinai Governorate, the reservoir host(s) and insect vector(s) in Sinai. In the present study, the six species of rodents were trapped from areas or nearby areas where human ZCL cases were detected. Rodents (50) were Mus musculus (10), Rattus r. alexandrinus (18), R. norvegicus (2), Gerbillus gerbillus (4), G. pyramidum (12) and Jaculus jaculus (4). The rodents were examined clinically for any skin lesion or even nodule, particularly in head and tail. One G. pyramidumn had natural infection with L. major as indicated by smears and culture, but typing was not done. The spot light surveys for Phlebotomus were carried out by the sticky paper traps and the CDC light traps in four main centers; Al Hassanah, Nakhil, Al Arish, and Bir Al-Abd. A total of 1320 sandflies were identified. They were P. papatasi (1150) and P. sergenti (170) in a ratio of 7:1. A total of three isolates of zymodeme London 70 undistinguished from the formerly obtained human and rodent isolates were enzymatically identified in P. papatasi.