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Vector Incrimination of Sand Flies in the Most Important Visceral Leishmaniasis Focus in Iran

The prevalence, host preference, and rate of Leishmania spp. infection of sand fly species are important parameters for incrimination of parasite vectors. We applied polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods to detect Leishmania spp. parasites and blood meals within individual sand flies in the most important visceral leishmaniasis (VL) focus in northwestern Iran. Leishmania spp. minicircles (kinetoplast DNA) were found in 14 (0.9%) of 1,569 female specimens. Sequence analysis of 650 basepairs of an internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA gene identified L. infantum/L. donovani in 12 specimens and L. adleri-like parasites in 2 specimens. Nine (64.3%) of 14 of the Leishmania spp.–positive sand flies were Phlebotomus perfeliewi transcaucasicus. Blood meal identification of host DNA within sand flies by PCR-based and ELISA methods showed that 30% and 28%, respectively, were positive for human blood. Results of this study showed that P. perfeliewi transcaucasicus is the most prevalent, infected, and anthropophagic sand fly and plays a major role in VL transmission in the region studied.

Received September 14, 2008. Accepted for publication December 28, 2008.

Acknowledgments: We thank the staff of Germi Center of Disease Control (Ardebil Province, Iran) for their contributions and assistance in collection of sand flies, and Dr. M. A. Alimohammadian and Dr. N. Piazak (Iran Pasteur Institute) for isolating different species of Leishmania parasites.

Financial support: This study was supported by grants TDRR 6/36, T5/72/6, SGS06/77 from the European Media Research Organizations–World Health Organization as well as Tehran University of Medical Science to Mohammad A. Oshaghi and Yavar Rassi.

^* Address correspondence to Mohammad A. Oshaghi and Yavar Rassi, Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 14155-6446, Tehran, Iran. E-mails: y_rassi{at}yahoo.com and oshaghima{at}yahoo.com

Authors’ addresses: Mohammad A. Oshaghi, Ezat-Aldin Javadian, Zabiholah Zare, Fatemeh Mohtarami, and Yavar Rassi, Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 14155–6446, Tehran, Iran, E-mails: moshaghi{at}sina.tums.ac.ir, edjavadian{at}yahoo.com, zarei_sog{at}yahoo.com, fmohtarami{at}yahoo.com, and y_rassi{at}yahoo.com. Naseh Maleki Ravasan, Department of Medical Parasitology and Entomology, College of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, E-mail: n_maleki{at}yahoo.com. Mehdi Mohebali and Homa Hajjaran, Department of Medical Parasitology, School of Public Health and Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, E-mails: mmohebali{at}hotmail.com and hajaranh{at}sina.tums.ac.ir.