Ecology and Biology of Phlebotomine Sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Different Leishmaniasis Foci in The Jenin District, West Bank, Palestine

Leishmaniasis is one of the important health problems in the West Bank, 'Palestine. This study was carried out in the Jenin district, where the most important foci of leishmaniasis in the West Bank during the last decade were occurred. The sandfly fauna of the area is unknown. Light traps, sticky traps, Knock-down and human-landing collection techniques were used to investigate the sandflies of the area and to give baseline guidance on various aspects concerning sandfly ecology to further studies on the sandfly of the district. A total of 4082 sandflies had been collected from different foci of cutaneous (CL) and / or visceral (VL) leishmaniasis during the period from June to December 1998. Thirteen species and seven varieties belonging to seven subgenera of the genus Phlebotomus and Sergentomya had been found in the district. These include P. (Larroussius) peijiliewi transcaucasicus, P. (L.) tobbi, P. (L.) mascittii canaaniticus, P. (L.) mascittii mascittii, P. (L.) major syriacus, P. (Phlebotomus)papatasi, P. (Synphlebotomus) sp., P. (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti sergerzti, P. (Pa.) jacusieli, P. (Adlerius) halepensis, S (Sergentomya) theodori, S (Sergentomya) fallax, S.(Sintonius) tiberiadis, S. (Sintonius) christophersi. In addition to two other subspecies, P. (L.) major major, P. (L.) major neglectus, which require further investigation, were collected. Of the above- mentioned species seven could not be excluded as possible vectors of leishmaniasis,indicating the high risk of infection with leishmaniasis in the district. Phlebotomus papatasi was considered the most probable vector of CL in the area because it had a high density in the surveyed human habitats especially from indoor environment of patients of CL. Moreover it was the main human-biting species found in the area. The most likely vector of VL was P. m. syriacus, as it was found in large numbers in animal shades, and it fed both on human and most probably animals. This is the first time that the subgenus Syriphlebotomus reported from the West Bank and neighboring countries. Among the five species of sandfly collected on human bait, P. papatasi was the most abundant constituted about (90 %) of the sandflies collected, followed by P. major (8 %) while the other three species P. tobbi, P. mascittii, and S theodori, constituted (2 %). Sandfly human-biting activity occurred through the night and it was highest within 3-4 hours after midnight. Two female sandflies, P. papatasi and P. sergenti, were found infested with mites and one female of P. papatasi was found infected with nematodes.- Sandflies species collected in this study were. described and illustrated.