Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology, Parasitology, Zoonoses and Geographical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Vassilika Vouton, GR-71003, Heraklion, Greece.
University of Crete, Vassilika Vouton, GR-71003, Heraklion, Greece.
Parasit Vectors. 2018 Feb 20;11(1):97. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-2680-4.
Blood-sucking phlebotomine sand flies are the vectors of the protozoan parasites Leishmania spp. Different Phlebotomus species transmit different Leishmania species causing leishmaniases which are neglected diseases emerging/reemerging in new regions. Thirteen sand fly species, ten belonging to the medically important genus Phlebotomus and three belonging to Sergentomyia are known in Greece. An increasing number of human and dog cases are reported each year from all parts of the country including the Aegean Islands. However, no previous study has been conducted on the sand fly fauna on the islands, except for Rhodes and Samos. The aim of this study was to investigate sand fly species in eleven small Aegean islands; to understand species-specific relationships with environmental and climatic factors and to compare sand fly community parameters among islands. A risk analysis was carried out for each species using climatic and environmental variables.
Nine sand fly species: Phlebotomus neglectus, P. tobbi, P. similis, P. simici, P. perfiliewi, P. alexandri, P. papatasi, Sergentomyia minuta and S. dentata, were collected from the islands studied. Phlebotomus (Adlerius) sp. and Sergentomyia sp. specimens were also collected but not identified to the species level. There was a positive effect of distance from the sea on the abundance of P. neglectus, S. minuta and S. dentata, and a negative effect on the abundance of P. tobbi, P. simici and P. similis. In general, temperature preferences of sand fly populations were between 21 and 29 °C. Nevertheless, there were significant differences in terms of temperature and relative humidity preference ranges among species. The most important species found, P. neglectus, was indisputably the most adapted species in the study area with a very high reaction norm, favoring even the lower temperature and humidity ranges. Overall, the sand fly fauna in the islands was very rich but there were differences in species diversity, as indicated by the values of the Shannon-Wiener index, along with evenness and richness of the sand fly fauna between the islands and altitude ranges in the islands.
The study indicated that the Greek Aegean Islands, however small, maintain a rich sand fly fauna. This includes important vectors of Leishmania spp. representing a risk for parasite transmission to humans and dogs along with the danger of maintaining new Leishmania spp. if introduced to the area.
吸血沙蝇是原生动物寄生虫利什曼原虫的传播媒介。不同的白蛉传播不同的利什曼原虫，导致利什曼病在新地区出现/再次出现。希腊已知有 13 种沙蝇，其中 10 种属于医学上重要的白蛉属，3 种属于 Sergentomyia 属。该国各地包括爱琴海岛屿每年都有越来越多的人和狗病例报告。然而，除了罗得岛和萨摩斯岛外，以前没有对这些岛屿的沙蝇区系进行过研究。本研究的目的是调查爱琴海 11 个小岛上的沙蝇种类;了解与环境和气候因素有关的种间关系，并比较岛屿间沙蝇群落参数。使用气候和环境变量对每种物种进行风险分析。
从研究岛屿采集到 9 种沙蝇：白蛉忽视、P. tobbi、P. similis、P. simici、P. perfiliewi、P. alexandri、P. papatasi、Sergentomyia minuta 和 S. dentata。还采集了 Phlebotomus (Adlerius) sp. 和 Sergentomyia sp. 标本，但未鉴定到种。距海的距离对白蛉忽视、S. minuta 和 S. dentata 的丰度有正向影响，对 P. tobbi、P. simici 和 P. similis 的丰度有负向影响。一般来说，沙蝇种群的温度偏好在 21 到 29°C 之间。然而，在种群的温度和相对湿度偏好范围方面存在显著差异。发现的最重要的物种 P. neglectus 无疑是研究区域最适应的物种，具有非常高的反应规范，甚至有利于较低的温度和湿度范围。总体而言，岛屿上的沙蝇区系非常丰富，但在物种多样性方面存在差异，这反映在香农-威纳指数的值以及岛屿间沙蝇区系的均匀度和丰富度以及岛屿的海拔范围上。
研究表明，希腊爱琴海岛屿虽然小，但却保持着丰富的沙蝇区系。其中包括利什曼原虫的重要传播媒介，对人和狗传播寄生虫构成威胁，并有可能在引入该地区时维持新的利什曼原虫。
