title: Spatial Distribution of Phlebotomine Sand Fly Species (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Qom Province, Central Iran.
abstract: Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is transmitted to humans by phlebotomine sand fly bites. ZCL is a major health problem in Iran, where basic knowledge gaps about sand fly species diversity persist in some ZCL-endemic areas. This paper describes the richness and spatial distribution of sand fly species, collected with sticky traps, in Qom province, a ZCL-endemic area in central Iran, where sand fly fauna has been poorly studied. Collected species were mapped on urban and rural digital maps based on a scale of 1/50,000. All analyses were undertaken with rural- and urban-level precision, i.e., rural and urban levels were our basic units of analysis. After identifying the sand flies, high-risk foci were determined. For spatial analysis of vector species population, the entomological sampling sites were geo-referenced using GPS. Arc GIS 9.3 software was used to determine the foci with leishmaniasis vector species. Following the analyses, two genera (Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia) and 14 species were identified. Based on the mapping and sand fly dispersion analysis, the rural districts were categorized into three groups-infection reported, without infection, and no report. Based on Geographical Information System analyses, Kahak and Markazi districts were identified as high-risk foci with leishmaniasis vector species. These findings can act as a help guide to direct active control measures to the identified high-risk foci and, eventually, lead to reduction in incidence of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran (abed.saghafi@yahoo.com) abed.saghafi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Abedin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saghafipour
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (hvatandoost1@yahoo.com; alirezazahraei@yahoo.com; myaghoobi@yahoo.com; rassiy@tums.ac.ir; aaakhavan@tums.ac.ir).
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vatandoost
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (hvatandoost1@yahoo.com; alirezazahraei@yahoo.com; myaghoobi@yahoo.com; rassiy@tums.ac.ir; aaakhavan@tums.ac.ir).
authors.forename: Ali Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zahraei-Ramazani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (hvatandoost1@yahoo.com; alirezazahraei@yahoo.com; myaghoobi@yahoo.com; rassiy@tums.ac.ir; aaakhavan@tums.ac.ir).
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Yaghoobi-Ershadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (hvatandoost1@yahoo.com; alirezazahraei@yahoo.com; myaghoobi@yahoo.com; rassiy@tums.ac.ir; aaakhavan@tums.ac.ir).
authors.forename: Yavar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rassi
authors.affiliation: Communicable Diseases Management Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran (shirzadim@yahoo.com).
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Shirzadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (hvatandoost1@yahoo.com; alirezazahraei@yahoo.com; myaghoobi@yahoo.com; rassiy@tums.ac.ir; aaakhavan@tums.ac.ir).
authors.forename: Amir Ahmad
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Akhavan
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology*; D007492:Iran; D007891:Leishmania / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008297:Male; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Geographical Information System; Iran; Phlebotomus; Qom; Sergentomyia; leishmaniasis