Tracking of <i>Leishmania</i> spp. in Iranian phlebotominae, distribution and biodiversity in Jarqavieh county, central Iran

Female phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of the protozoan parasites <i>Leishmania</i> spp. In Iran, <i>Leishmania major</i> and <i>L. tropica</i> are the causative agents of cutaneous Leishmaniasis. This epidemiological and descriptive cross-sectional study took place in 2021 to determine how sand flies are distributed in Hasanabad and Hossein-Abad, located in eastern Isfahan province, central Iran. Sand flies were screened for <i>Leishmania</i> DNA by semi-nested PCR and sequencing to discriminate between species. Overall, 363 collected sand flies were identified morphologically, among which 161 (44.4%) and 202 (55.6%) were from Hasanabad and Hossein-Abad, respectively; the most significant number was caught from outdoor places. Also, 34.4% and 65.6% of the sand flies were female and male, respectively. The most prevalent sand fly species were <i>Phlebotomus papatasi</i> (52.6%), followed by <i>Ph. caucasicus</i> (30.6%), <i>Sergentomyia sintoni</i> (13.2%), <i>Sergentomyia</i> spp. (1.9%), and the rest unknown (1.7%). Eight of sixty (13.33%) molecularly analyzed sand flies, including six <i>Ph. papatasi</i> and two <i>S. sintoni</i>, were infected with <i>L. major</i>, of which all were collected from outdoor environments in July.