NOTE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF PHLEBOTOMINE SAND FLIES IN SOUTHERN ALBANIA

Abstract

Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a re-emerging disease in the Mediterranean area. We report one ento- mological investigation (May–October 2006) aimed to study the current species composition and seasonality of Phle- botomine sand flies in 10 districts of Albania. Standard blacklight traps (8W UV light manufactured in Onderstep- port, SouthAfrica) employed for sampling Culicoides midges in the frame of bluetongue disease surveillance were used for the first time in Albania in Phlebotomine monitoring. A total of 1660 sand flies were collected and five spe- cies were identified, Phlebotomus tobbi, Phlebotomus neglectus, Phlebotomus perfiliewi, Sergentomyia minutae and Sergentomyia dentate. Among the species, which may act as Leishmania infantum vectors, P. tobbi and P. neglectus were the most abundant