Use of phlebotomine sand flies as indicator of leishmania prevalence in an endemic area.

An entomological survey was conducted on phlebotomine sand flies to discover the presence of Leishmania parasites in six Sicilian provinces. During the season from June to October 2005, 20,346 sand fly specimens were collected by using a "black light" trap in eight cattle and sheep farms. The most prevalent species was Phlebotomus perfiliewi (51.60%) followed by P. perniciosus (24.37%), and Sergentomyia minuta (24.03%). Among the 11,441 females collected, 284 (2.70%) were gravid and 708 (6.74%) were blood-fed females. A total of 194 gravid females, 274 blood-fed females, and 254 females with no evidence of blood meal were analyzed for L. infantum by PCR analysis, showing 9.79% gravid females, 5.84% blood-fed females, and 5.51% females with no evidence of blood meal positive for Leishmania DNA. These results support the use of gravid female sand flies for the evaluation of prevalence of Leishmania.