Impact of urbanization on the sand fly Phlebotomus langeroni nitzulescu in an old focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Egypt

Abstract

Changes in the environment often cause changes in disease transmission. Land use change especially urbanization can have a huge impact on transmission of vector-borne diseases. This study investigated the effect of urban development on the abundance of sand flies, in an old endemic focus of infantile visceral leishmaniasis in the north coast of Egypt. Sand fly abundance obtained in this study was compared to those obtained in 1984. In context remote sensing techniques are used to identify landscape features that might have influenced the spatial distribution of the sand fly vector in the area. In 2005, sand flies were completely absent from El Agamy. Sand fly habitat in El Agamy entirely changed and was replaced by urban settlements. Through the analysis of satellite imagery taken before and after, land use/land cover modification together with entomological data, the factors underlying the bionomics of sand flies are discussed.