A Comparative Study on the Biodiversity and Species Richness of Phlebotomine Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Kermanshah and Khuzestan Provinces of Iran

  • Negin Yahaghi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Mahboubeh Fatemi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Ahmad Ali Hanafi-Bojd Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Abdollah Naghian Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
  • Mohammad Reza Yaghoobi-Ershadi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Alireza Zahraei-Ramezani Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Yavar Rassi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Hassan Soleimani Yazd Health Research Station, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
  • Hossein Dehghan Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Iran
  • Arshad Veysi Zoonoses Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran
  • Kamran Akbarzadeh Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Amir Ahmad Akhavan Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Leishmaniasis; Phlebotominae; Species Richness; Biodiversity; Iran

Abstract

Background: Leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector-borne and neglected tropical diseases in many parts of the world. The main objective of this study was to determine the biodiversity of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psy­chodidae, Phlebotominae) in Khuzestan and Kermanshah Provinces of Iran.

Methods: Sampling was conducted in Khuzestan and Kermanshah Provinces using sticky paper traps and CDC light traps. The samples were then stored in 96% alcohol-containing vials, mounted, and identified. Afterward, the alpha di­versity (using Simpson’s, Shannon-Weiner’s diversity, evenness, Maghalef’s, Menhinick’s, Hill N1 and N2 indices) and beta diversity indices (using Sorensen’s and Jaccard’s coefficients) were calculated.

Results: A total of 4302 sand flies were caught and identified which comprised mostly of Phlebotomus papatasi, Ph. alexandri and Ph. sergenti. It was found that among the four counties of Ahvaz, Shush, Shushtar and Dezful in Khuzestan Province, Shush had the lowest, and Shushtar, the highest amount of species diversity and evenness. In the four studied counties of Kermanshah Province, species diversity in Kermanshah County had the lowest amount and Sarpol-e-Zahab, the highest. The species richness in Kermanshah County was the lowest, while Qasr-e-Shirin County had the highest amount.

Conclusion: An overview of the biodiversity of phlebotomine sand flies in Kermanshah County in Kermanshah Prov­ince, and Shush County in Khuzestan Province, showed less stability in community structure of these vectors, which can be counted as an alarm for emerging dominant vectors among the studied counties and have the potential to increase the prevalence of leishmaniasis.

Published
2023-03-12
Section
Articles