Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Foundation for Research & Technology Hellas, 70013 Heraklion, Greece.
Department of Biology, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, Greece.
Viruses. 2023 Jan 3;15(1):148. doi: 10.3390/v15010148.
The continuously expanding distribution of sand flies, proven vectors of and of several phleboviruses, is a growing public health issue in Europe. Especially in Italy, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is occurring with increasing incidence northward, in previously non-endemic provinces. Around the globe, disease elimination efforts largely focus on sand fly vector insecticidal control, often leading to the development of resistance. In Emilia-Romagna (ER), northern Italy, insecticides are heavily applied for agricultural and mosquito control, but not specifically against sand flies. Here, we investigated the sand fly species composition in certain environmental settings in ER provinces and monitored the presence of pyrethroid resistance mutations and pathogen circulation. , a dominant vector of , was detected almost exclusively in the region. No mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene, e.g., knock-down resistance mutations I1011M, L1014F/S, V1016G, or F1020S, were recorded. Pathogen monitoring revealed that almost 40% of the tested sand fly pools were positive for , while the presence of Toscana and Fermo phleboviruses was also observed in much lower frequencies (≤3% positive pools). Regular epidemiological and entomological monitoring, alongside resistance surveillance, is highly recommended to ensure the sustainability and efficiency of vector control interventions.
在欧洲，沙蝇的分布不断扩大，沙蝇已被证实是利什曼原虫和几种黄病毒的传播媒介，这是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题。特别是在意大利，内脏利什曼病（VL）的发病率在北部以前非流行省份不断上升。在全球范围内，疾病消除工作主要集中在沙蝇媒介的杀虫剂控制上，这往往导致抗药性的产生。在意大利北部的艾米利亚-罗马涅（ER）地区，大量使用杀虫剂进行农业和蚊虫控制，但并非专门针对沙蝇。在这里，我们调查了 ER 省某些环境中沙蝇的物种组成，并监测了拟除虫菊酯抗性突变体和病原体循环的存在。Phlebotomus perfiliewi，是一种主要的利什曼原虫传播媒介，几乎仅在该地区被检测到。未记录到电压门控钠离子通道基因中的突变，例如击倒抗性突变 I1011M、L1014F/S、V1016G 或 F1020S。病原体监测显示，近 40%的测试沙蝇群对 Leishmania infantum 呈阳性，而 Toscana 和 Fermo 黄病毒的存在频率也较低（≤3%的阳性群）。强烈建议定期进行流行病学和昆虫学监测，以及抗性监测，以确保控制干预措施的可持续性和效率。
