title: Species composition of phlebotomine sand flies and bionomics of Phlebotomus orientalis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Tahtay Adiyabo district, Northern Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease, which is strongly associated with poverty. VL caused by Leishmania donovani and transmitted by Phlebotomus orientalis is endemic in various remote areas of north and north-west Ethiopia. The present study was designed to determine the sand fly fauna and bionomics of P. orientalis in the VL endemic focus of Tahtay Adiyabo district.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sand flies were collected using CDC light traps (n = 602), sticky traps (n = 9,350) and indoor pyrethrum spray catches (n = 578 house visits) from indoor, peri-domestic and agricultural field habitats between May 2011 to April 2012. All sand fly specimens collected were identified to species level and counted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 100,772 sand fly specimens, belonging to 25 sand fly species (nine Phlebotomus and sixteen Sergentomyia) were collected and identified. S. africana and P. orientalis made up 59.1% and 23.5% of the collected sand flies, respectively. As it could be determined from the proportion of collections from outdoor (peri-domestic and agricultural fields) and indoor locations, P. orientalis appears to exhibit increased exophilic behavior. The outdoor to indoor index was 79:1 on m(2) of sticky traps. Mean density of P. orientalis caught was significantly higher on horizontally placed sticky traps (mean = 60 ± 14.56/m(2)/night) than vertically deployed sticky traps (12 ± 3.57/m(2)/night). The highest abundance of P. orientalis occurred between March and April. Through July to September, there was a sharp decline in abundance of P. orientalis population. Regarding climatic variables, P. orientalis density in light traps and on sticky traps showed a significant positive and negative association with temperature and relative humidity, respectively. However, non-significant negative correlation was observed with rainfall pattern.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, P. orientalis was found to be the most abundant Phlebotomus species, showing marked seasonal abundance that mainly peaks during the dry season (March to April). Likewise, the people in the area usually sleep in compounds during these months that potentially expose them to a high risk of peri-domestic VL transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. shambe2006@yahoo.com.|Department of Biology, College of Natural Science, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia. shambe2006@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Araya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gebresilassie
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada The Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. oscark@ekmd.huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Oscar David
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Kirstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Natural Science, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia. solyar2005@yahoo.com.|Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. solyar2005@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yared
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. reyeesayas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Essayas
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aklilu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada The Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. adi.moncaz@mail.huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Aviad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moncaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. habte_tm@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Habte
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tekie
authors.affiliation: Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. meshesha_b@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Meshesha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balkew
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada The Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. alonw@ekmd.huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Warburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Health Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. hailu_a2004@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Asrat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hailu
authors.affiliation: Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. teshomegm@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Teshome
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gebre-Michael
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000502:physiology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature