DIVERSITE SPECIFIQUE DES PHLEBOTOMES DU NIGER ET DE SES PAYS LIMITROPHES

Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an endemic parasitosis in Niger and some of its neighbouring countries. The vectors of this disease are sandflies, which are unfortunately little known in Niger and some of its neighbouring countries. The aim of this study is to inventory the species of sandfly present in Niger and its neighbouring countries. 

Methodology: This study is conducted in two parts. The first is a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles published on sandflies in Niger and its neighboring countries between the period 2012 to 2022 through Ajol, Pubmed and Science direct. The second is based on a prospective collection of sandflies carried out in the town of Zinder, using castor oil and CDC light traps and morphologically identified.

Results: All the sandflies recorded in the systematic review belong to the genera Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia, with a species richness of 43. Phlebotomusperniciosus predominates (28%) on the Maghreb pole. However, on the sub-Saharan pole, Sergentomyiaclydei predominated with 53%. A strong association between the Maghreb pole and the Phlebotomus genus was observed (p-value<0.05). The prospective study carried out in Zinder provided six species with Phlebotomuspapatasi (6%), Phlebotomusduboscqi (6%), Phlebotomussergenti (25%), Sergentomyiaschwetzi (6%), Sergentomyiaafricana (38%) and Sergentomyiaantennata (19%).

Conclusion: Niger and its surroundings contain a wide variety of sandflies, with a dominance of species of the Phlebotomus genus, which are the main vectors of leishmaniasis. This study also reports the presence of six species in Zinder, including P. papatasi and S. schwetzi, newly captured in Niger.