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Phlebotomus tobbi on the Greek island of Lesbos
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYALSOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINEANDHYGIENE(1984)78. CORRESPONDENCE 413 Wright, C. A. (1963). The freshwater gastropod Mollusca of Angola. Bulletin of theBritish Museumof Natural History, Zoology, 10, 449-528. Wright,, C. A. & Southgate, V. R. (1976). Hybridization of sclustosomesand some of its implications. In: Genetic aspects of host-parasite relationships. Symposia of the British Society for Parasitology. Vol. 14. Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1976.
Accepted for publication 3rd December, 1983.
Phlebotomus tobbi on the Greek island of Lesbos Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in many parts of Greece, including Lesbos. According to Leger et al. (1979) and WHO (1982) it has shown a recrudescence in recent years over most parts of the country. Little is known about the transmission of the disease, except that Phlebotomus (Larroussius) major syriacus 1s generally thought to be the vector in Crete (see ZAHAR, 1979 for review). In other parts of Greece the vector is unknown although eight species of Phlebotomus and two of Sergentomyia are recorded from that country. Of these, P. (L.) tobbi, although involved in transmission in the eastern Mediterranean, has been discounted as a vector in Greece because it has been found in low numbers. HADJINICOLAOU (1958) found P. tobbi to be rare in Athens and Crete but in Salonica in northern Greece, where high numbers of sandflies were collected, it represented 14% of the total although none were infected. Recently, LUGER et al. (1979) reviewed the sandfly fauna of Greece based on a longitudinal transect from Kozani in the north of the mainland, through Lamia and Amphissa, to Athens; these authors found that I’. tobbi comprised less than 1.0% of sandflies caught. The results of recent sampling by two of us (J.B. & P.W.) during a survey for bluetongue virus vectors in Lesbos (BOORMAN 81 WILKERSON, in press), indicate that P. tobbi may be more abundant in Greece than is generally believed. CDC light trans were Dlaced near animal shelters and hous& in the villag& of Achladeri (on coast), Lambou-Mili (in mountains) and Kalloni (on coastal plain) during bctober 1982’for nine trap &ghts. Six samples totalling 34 sandfly specimens were collected of which 32 (94%) were I’. tobbi (6 males, 26 females); the remaining two were male S. minuta. Although these numbers are small, they indicate that during October P. tobbi was the dominant species. The contrast between this and earlier findings is probably the result of seasonal and sampling differences rather than geographical differences. LACER et al. (1979) collected sandflies wirh sticky paper traps during June and HADJINICOLAOU (1958) used aspirators to collect samples from houses and outbuildings between June and August. However, his pooled sample from Salonica, which contained the highest proportion of P. tobbi, was made between June and September. Unfortunately, there is no indication as to which months the I’. tobbi were collected (i.e., if most were collected in September). Our sample from Lesbos suggests that P. tobbi is common in the Greek Islands late in the year and that this species cannot be
dismissed as a possible vector of visceral leishmaniasis in this part of Greece, and perhaps others, on the grounds of its rarity. R. P. LANE Medical Diptera Section, Department of Entomology, British Museum (Natural History), London SW7 SBD. J. BOORMAN P. J. WILKINSON Animal Virus Research Institute, &bright, Woking, Surrey, England. References Boorman, J. I’. T. & Wilkerson, I’. (in press). Potential vectors of bluetongue in Lesbos, Greece. Veterinatj, Record.
Hadiinicolaou. I. 11958). Present status of Phlebotomusin certain areas 0: Greece. Bulletin, of the World Health Organization, 19, 967-979. LCger, N., Saratsiotis, B., Pessoen,B. & Leger, I’. (1979). La leishmaniose en G&e. Rtsults d’une enauCte entomologique effect&e en juin 1977.Annales derarasitologie humaine et cornparke, 54, 11-29. World Health Organization (1982). Malaria and other imported comm;nicable diseasesin Mediterranean countries. KJnuublished document ICPiMl’D 002. World Health‘ O;ganization, Geneva.). Zahar, A. R. (1979). Studies on leishmaniasis vectors/ reservoirs and their control in the Old World. (Unpublished document WHONBCi79.749, World Health Organization, Geneva.)
Accepted for publication 7th December, 1983. Tsetse feeding habits in an area of endemic sleeping sickness in southern Sudan Repeated epidemics of sleeping sickness have afflicted the southernmost areas of the Sudan, where a number of active foci are currently giving rise to concern. In May and June 1982, I visited the Yambio area in Western Equatoria Province, 350 km west of Juba and close to the border with Zaire, to investigate tsetse ecology in relation to this disease. Gambian sleeping sickness is endemic in this area and the disease and its epidemiology, with some notes on tsetse ecology, have been reported by HUTCHINSON (1975). Recently, sero-diagnosis and the treatment of parasitologically confirmed cases have reduced human infection rates from 4.4% to 0.1% (VAN NIEUWENHOVE et al:, 1981). Glossina fusczpes fuscipes appears to be the sole vector with the sites of maximum man/fly contact at watering-places by springs and on streams and rivers. During my survey, at the beginning of the rains, there were few tsetse but 16 blood-fed G. f. fuscipes were collected from biconical traps sited -near wateringnlaces in gallerv forest. Identifications of 14 bloodheals (twowerk negative) by the complement fixation test (STAAK et al., 1981) are listed below:
Accepted for publication 3rd December, 1983.
Phlebotomus tobbi on the Greek island of Lesbos Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in many parts of Greece, including Lesbos. According to Leger et al. (1979) and WHO (1982) it has shown a recrudescence in recent years over most parts of the country. Little is known about the transmission of the disease, except that Phlebotomus (Larroussius) major syriacus 1s generally thought to be the vector in Crete (see ZAHAR, 1979 for review). In other parts of Greece the vector is unknown although eight species of Phlebotomus and two of Sergentomyia are recorded from that country. Of these, P. (L.) tobbi, although involved in transmission in the eastern Mediterranean, has been discounted as a vector in Greece because it has been found in low numbers. HADJINICOLAOU (1958) found P. tobbi to be rare in Athens and Crete but in Salonica in northern Greece, where high numbers of sandflies were collected, it represented 14% of the total although none were infected. Recently, LUGER et al. (1979) reviewed the sandfly fauna of Greece based on a longitudinal transect from Kozani in the north of the mainland, through Lamia and Amphissa, to Athens; these authors found that I’. tobbi comprised less than 1.0% of sandflies caught. The results of recent sampling by two of us (J.B. & P.W.) during a survey for bluetongue virus vectors in Lesbos (BOORMAN 81 WILKERSON, in press), indicate that P. tobbi may be more abundant in Greece than is generally believed. CDC light trans were Dlaced near animal shelters and hous& in the villag& of Achladeri (on coast), Lambou-Mili (in mountains) and Kalloni (on coastal plain) during bctober 1982’for nine trap &ghts. Six samples totalling 34 sandfly specimens were collected of which 32 (94%) were I’. tobbi (6 males, 26 females); the remaining two were male S. minuta. Although these numbers are small, they indicate that during October P. tobbi was the dominant species. The contrast between this and earlier findings is probably the result of seasonal and sampling differences rather than geographical differences. LACER et al. (1979) collected sandflies wirh sticky paper traps during June and HADJINICOLAOU (1958) used aspirators to collect samples from houses and outbuildings between June and August. However, his pooled sample from Salonica, which contained the highest proportion of P. tobbi, was made between June and September. Unfortunately, there is no indication as to which months the I’. tobbi were collected (i.e., if most were collected in September). Our sample from Lesbos suggests that P. tobbi is common in the Greek Islands late in the year and that this species cannot be
dismissed as a possible vector of visceral leishmaniasis in this part of Greece, and perhaps others, on the grounds of its rarity. R. P. LANE Medical Diptera Section, Department of Entomology, British Museum (Natural History), London SW7 SBD. J. BOORMAN P. J. WILKINSON Animal Virus Research Institute, &bright, Woking, Surrey, England. References Boorman, J. I’. T. & Wilkerson, I’. (in press). Potential vectors of bluetongue in Lesbos, Greece. Veterinatj, Record.
Hadiinicolaou. I. 11958). Present status of Phlebotomusin certain areas 0: Greece. Bulletin, of the World Health Organization, 19, 967-979. LCger, N., Saratsiotis, B., Pessoen,B. & Leger, I’. (1979). La leishmaniose en G&e. Rtsults d’une enauCte entomologique effect&e en juin 1977.Annales derarasitologie humaine et cornparke, 54, 11-29. World Health Organization (1982). Malaria and other imported comm;nicable diseasesin Mediterranean countries. KJnuublished document ICPiMl’D 002. World Health‘ O;ganization, Geneva.). Zahar, A. R. (1979). Studies on leishmaniasis vectors/ reservoirs and their control in the Old World. (Unpublished document WHONBCi79.749, World Health Organization, Geneva.)
Accepted for publication 7th December, 1983. Tsetse feeding habits in an area of endemic sleeping sickness in southern Sudan Repeated epidemics of sleeping sickness have afflicted the southernmost areas of the Sudan, where a number of active foci are currently giving rise to concern. In May and June 1982, I visited the Yambio area in Western Equatoria Province, 350 km west of Juba and close to the border with Zaire, to investigate tsetse ecology in relation to this disease. Gambian sleeping sickness is endemic in this area and the disease and its epidemiology, with some notes on tsetse ecology, have been reported by HUTCHINSON (1975). Recently, sero-diagnosis and the treatment of parasitologically confirmed cases have reduced human infection rates from 4.4% to 0.1% (VAN NIEUWENHOVE et al:, 1981). Glossina fusczpes fuscipes appears to be the sole vector with the sites of maximum man/fly contact at watering-places by springs and on streams and rivers. During my survey, at the beginning of the rains, there were few tsetse but 16 blood-fed G. f. fuscipes were collected from biconical traps sited -near wateringnlaces in gallerv forest. Identifications of 14 bloodheals (twowerk negative) by the complement fixation test (STAAK et al., 1981) are listed below: