title: Habitat preference and seasonal dynamics of Phlebotomus orientalis in urban and semi-urban areas of kala-azar endemic district of Kafta Humera, northwest Ethiopia.
abstract: Visceral leishmaniasis is a significant public health problem in northwest Ethiopia, particularly in Kafta Humera district. The study was designed to determine the species composition and population dynamics of sand flies in five villages representing urban and semi-urban areas of Kafta Humera district namely, Setit Humera, Mykadra, Rawyan, Bereket and Adebay. Sand flies were collected for two to three nights monthly from May 2011 to April 2012 using CDC light-traps and sticky traps. Traps were placed in villages, at periphery of villages and farm fields. Sticky traps were also used for sampling indoor active sand flies. In total, 13,097 sand fly specimens of eight Phlebotomus species and 91,949 Sergentomyia specimens were collected. Among the Phlebotomus, P. orientalis was the predominant species (58.1%) followed by P. papatasi (29.6%), P. lesleyae (5.6%), P. bergeroti (3.8%), P. duboscqi (2.1%), P. alexandri (0.4%), P. heischi (0.2%) and P. rodhaini (0.2%). Significantly, higher number of P. orientalis was caught in Adebay village and the least in Setit Humera town. Seasonal abundance of P. orientalis increased during the dry season (January-May) and dropped drastically in the wet season (late June-September). Significant positive correlation was found between monthly abundance of P. orientalis and the monthly average air and surface soil temperature, while a negative correlation was found with monthly average rainfall and relative humidity. Higher number of P. orientalis was collected outdoors, especially in the farm fields followed by periphery of villages. Thus, various observations strongly suggested P. orientalis to be the principal vector in the study areas, where farm lands and periphery of villages were identified as the most risky habitats, whereas the indoors were the least ones. Appropriate control methods should be designed and implemented according to the knowledge of P. orientalis habitat preferences and seasonal dynamics in the district.
authors: Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia. Electronic address: solyar2005@yahoo.com.
authors: Solomon
authors: S
authors: Yared
authors: Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia. Electronic address: arayagh2006@yahoo.com.
authors: Araya
authors: A
authors: Gebresilassie
authors: Department of Zoological Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: reyeesayas@gmail.com.
authors: Essayas
authors: E
authors: Akililu
authors: Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: meshesha_b@yahoo.com.
authors: Meshesha
authors: M
authors: Balkew
authors: 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. Electronic address: alonw@ekmd.huji.ac.il.
authors: Alon
authors: A
authors: Warburg
authors: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: hailu_a2004@yahoo.com.
authors: Asrat
authors: A
authors: Hailu
authors: Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: teshomegm@gmail.com.
authors: Teshome
authors: T
authors: Gebre-Michael
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Ecology; Kafta Humera; Phlebotomus orientalis; Population dynamics; Sand fly fauna; Visceral leishmaniasis