Journal Article

First record of Phlebotomus (Larroussius) orientalis (Parrot, 1936) (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Israel: phylogeographic placement and implications for leishmaniasis surveillance

Orshan, Laor, Shilo, Simcha, Reicher, Shay, Kalmus, Shira, Koblmüller, Stephan, Akad, Fouad, Kirstein, Oscar David, Ben Avi, Ira, Davidovich-Cohen, Maya, Studentsky, Liora, Elbaz, Shirly Lea, Naveh, Itay, Kniha, Edwin, Diaz, Debora

2026

Overview

Background Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the principal vectors of Leishmania spp., the causative agents of leishmaniasis. Since 2008, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Israel have conducted nationwide, periodic sand fly surveys. Initially, these surveys focused on localities with known endemic transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis, but in recent years, entomological trapping has expanded to areas where prior information on sand flies was unavailable. Here we report the first confirmed occurrence of Phlebotomus (Larroussius) orientalis (Parrot, 1936) in Israel and place the Israeli material in a comparative phylogeographic context. Methods Entomological surveys by CO 2 trapping were conducted in the Negev Desert, southern Israel, between 2020 and 2024. Morphological sand fly identification was confirmed by sequencing fragments of the mitochondrial COI and Cytb / NADH1 genes. For a newly reported species, we inferred intraspecific phylogenetic relationships and divergence times between major clades. A subset of females was additionally screened for Leishmania DNA and vertebrate blood-meal sources by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with high-resolution melt analysis. Results Targeted surveys and routine surveillance in the Negev region between 2020 and 2024 yielded 269 Phlebotomus orientalis (96 males, 173 females) among other species of local sand fly fauna from multiple wadi systems in the central Negev. These detections constitute the first confirmed records of Ph. orientalis in Israel. Species identification was confirmed through both morphological examination and molecular analyses of partial COI and Cytb / NADH1 genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Israeli Ph. orientalis specimens constitute a distinct lineage that diverged from East African conspecifics during the Early to Middle Pleistocene. Blood-meal analysis of engorged Ph. orientalis females identified the European hare as a vertebrate host, and none of the tested Ph. orientalis specimens were positive for Leishmania DNA. Conclusions Phlebotomus orientalis is a confirmed vector of L. donovani , the main agent of visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa. Its detection as a distinct and apparently long-established lineage in the Negev, in a region where parasites of the L. donovani complex are already involved in cutaneous leishmaniasis transmission, highlights the need to clarify the distribution, ecology, and host preferences of Ph. orientalis in Israel. Further studies are required to characterize its spatial and seasonal occurrence, evaluate its vector competence for L. donovani and L. infantum , and assess its potential contribution to current and future leishmaniasis transmission risks.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Abdomen / Animals / Barcoding / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Blood / Carbon dioxide / Conspecifics / Cutaneous leishmaniasis / Deoxyribonucleic acid / Diptera / Divergence / Divergence time estimates / DNA / Entomology / Environmental protection / Female / Females / Flies / Genes / Haplotyping / Host preferences / Identification / Infectious Diseases / Insect Vectors - classification / Insect Vectors - genetics / Insect Vectors - parasitology / Israel - epidemiology / Larroussius / Leishmania / Leishmania - genetics / Leishmania - isolation & purification / Leishmaniasis - epidemiology / Leishmaniasis - transmission / Male / Medical laboratories / Morphology / Negev Desert / Nucleotide sequence / Parasites / Parasitic diseases / Parasitology / PCR / Phlebotomus / Phlebotomus - classification / Phlebotomus - genetics / Phlebotomus - parasitology / Phlebotomus - physiology / Phlebotomus orientalis / Phylogenetics / Phylogeny / Phylogeography / Pleistocene / Polls & surveys / Polymerase chain reaction / Protozoa / Psychodidae / Real time / Sand flies / Species identification / Surveillance / Surveys / Transfer RNA / Trapping / Tropical diseases / Tropical Medicine / Vector-borne diseases / Vectors / Vertebrates / Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science / Virology / Visceral leishmaniasis