Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) of Bosnia and Herzegovina: distribution, ecology and environmental preferences.

Autor: Hoxha I; Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria., Trájer AJ; University of Pannonia, Sustainability Solutions Research Lab, Veszprém, Hungary., Dvorak V; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University Prague, Prague, Czech Republic., Halada P; BioCeV, Institute of Microbiology of The Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Czech Republic., Šupić J; Department of Clinical Sciences of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina., Obwaller AG; Division of Science, Research and Development, Federal Ministry of Defence, Vienna, Austria., Poeppl W; Department of Dermatology and Tropical Medicine, Military Medical Cluster East, Austrian Armed Forces, Vienna, Austria., Walochnik J; Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria., Alić A; Department of Clinical Sciences of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Electronic address: amer.alic@vfs.unsa.ba., Kniha E; Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: edwin.kniha@meduniwien.ac.at.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Acta tropica [Acta Trop] 2024 Sep 13; Vol. 260, pp. 107393. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 13.
DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107393
Abstrakt: Sand flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) are the principal vectors for the protozoan parasites Leishmania spp. and for phleboviruses. The sand fly fauna on the Balkan Peninsula, including Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), is diverse and the circulation of Leishmania infantum as well as phleboviruses has been proven. However, recent data on the sand fly fauna in BIH are scarce. In this study, we surveyed understudied regions in central and northeastern BIH to update the sand fly distribution and gain insights into the ecological and environmental factors shaping their appearance. CDC light trapping was conducted in 2022 and 2023 and a combination of morphological and molecular methods (cytochrome oxidase I barcoding) was performed for species identifications. We mapped the currently known distribution, modelled climatic suitability patterns and performed environmental analyses by applying machine learning methods. In addition, we analyzed blood meals by host gene sequencing and MALDI-TOF peptide mass mapping and screened for Leishmania spp. DNA and Phlebovirus RNA. Altogether, 591 sand flies of four species were trapped, predominantly Phlebotomus neglectus (97 %), but also Ph. balcanicus, Ph. mascittii, and Ph. papatasi. Records of seven sand fly species known to be endemic were plotted onto distribution maps based on 101 datapoints, identifying Ph. neglectus as the overall predominant species. The environmental analyses of sand fly species indicated variation in altitudinal, thermal, and precipitation conditions across the sand fly-positive sites. Phlebotomus simici, Phlebotomus tobbi, and Sergentomyia minuta are typically found exclusively in Mediterranean and subtropical climate zones, whereas other species typically inhabit continental regions. The Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation of sand fly species numbers and Shannon entropy values suggested the southeastern coastal region of BIH as a primary focus for sand fly occurrence. This finding was corroborated by modeled average climatic suitability patterns for sand flies, depicting four distinct meso-regions for sand fly occurrence. The results of the ensemble method highlight the importance of annual precipitation to distinguish between positive and negative sand fly trapping sites in BIH. In total, 55 blood meals of two sand fly species, Ph. neglectus and Ph. balcanicus, were analyzed and five host species identified. Our comprehensive assessment of ecological and environmental preferences of sand flies in BIH may support further entomological surveys and help to better understand and evaluate potential hot spots of disease transmission in the country.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare there are no competing interests associated with the manuscript.
(Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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