Bioecology of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in Khorramshahr County, the endemic focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Khuzestan Province, Iran (2017–2018)

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the fauna and bioecology of sandflies in Khorramshahr County, southwest of Iran, where cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic. Materials and Methods: Sandflies were caught indoors and outdoors by sticky paper traps in different areas. Sandflies were removed by needle and put in acetone and then transferred and preserved in 70% ethanol. In the laboratory, they were mounted in the Puri's medium and identified using identification key. The species richness, relative abundance, monthly prevalence, gender, and abdominal situation of sandflies in indoor and outdoor resting places were determined. Results: A total of 7172 sandflies representing 11 species were collected in 11 areas. Almost 29.9% of sandflies were collected from indoor places and 70.1% from outdoor places. About 60.8% of the specimens were Phlebotomus species while 39.2% were Sergentomyia. Phlebotomus papatasi and Sergentomyia sintoni were the most common species among Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia genera, respectively. The highest sex ratio was 1100 for Sergentomyia theodori. In total, 53.7% of sandflies were male and 46.3% were female. The majority of captured sandflies collected from indoor and outdoor places had an unfed stomach. The sandflies were more active in June and September. Conclusion: More detailed studies on leptomonad infection of the suspected vectors and amastigote infection of the potential reservoirs of the CL are recommended to detect the epidemiological characteristics of the disease in this county.