Phlebotomus

Phlebotomus is a genus of 'sand flies' in the Diptera family Psychodidae. In the past, they have sometimes been considered to belong in a separate family, Phlebotomidae, but this alternative classification has not gained wide acceptance. In the Old World, Phlebotomus sand flies are primarily responsible for the transmission of leishmaniasis, an important parasitic disease, while transmission in the New World, is generally via sand flies of the genus Lutzomyia. The protozoan parasite itself is a species of the genus Leishmania. Leishmaniasis normally finds a mammalian reservoir in rodents and other small animals such as canids (canine leishmaniasis) and hyraxes. The female sand fly carries the Leishmania protozoa from infected animals after feeding, thus transmitting the disease, while the male feeds on plant nectar. The parasite Leishmania donovani is the main causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where it is transmitted by the sand flies of the species Phlebotomus argentipes. This species of sand flies was on the brink of elimination in India during the 1960s following the widespread use of DDT for malaria control. However, there was a resurgence in their population a decade later. Phlebotomus species are also vectors for bartonellosis, verruga peruana, and pappataci fever, an arboviral disease caused by sandfly fever viruses such as the Naples and Sicilian strains of the genus Phlebovirus (family Bunyaviridae), which also includes the closely related Toscana virus.In Egypt, two species of medical importance are Phlebotomus papatasii and P. langerni. These flies are short-lived. Females are bloodsuckers at night; males feed on plant juices. Adults are poor fliers, they usually hop for short distances.