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. 2021 Sep;120(9):3091-3103.
doi: 10.1007/s00436-021-07270-0. Epub 2021 Aug 18.

Density assessment and reporting for Phlebotomus perniciosus and other sand fly species in periurban residential estates in Spain

C Muñoz  1 , J Risueño  2 , P Pérez-Cutillas  3 , L J Bernal  4 , J M Ortiz  2 , R Ruiz de Ybáñez  2 , P F Sánchez-López  5 , C Martínez-Carrasco  2 , L Del Río  2 , P De la Rúa  6 , J D García-Martínez  4 , M Gonzálvez  2 , L Murcia  7 , F Collantes  8 , E Goyena  2 , T Spitzova  9 , S Elshanat  10 , E Berriatua  2
Affiliations

Density assessment and reporting for Phlebotomus perniciosus and other sand fly species in periurban residential estates in Spain

C Muñoz et al. Parasitol Res. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Density; Distribution; Environment; Leishmania; Phlebotomus; Residential.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Location of phlebotomine sand fly sampling sites in periurban areas of Murcia City and meteorological stations from which climatic data was obtained
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Temporal dynamics in P. perniciosus density (sand flies/m2/day) in sticky traps from week 3 in September 2013 (3S.3) to week 2 in July 2015 (5Jl.2) in the plot of three detached homes (sites 2, 3, and 4) in residential estate number 1, in the outskirts of Murcia City (southeast Spain). ND1-4 denote periods between two sampling weeks when no data was collected
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