1. Understanding and predicting the geographic distributions of phlebotomine sand flies in and around EuropeDanyang Wang, Anouschka R. Hof, Kevin D. Matson, Frank van Langevelde, Edwin Kniha, Vít Dvořák, Ognyan Mikov, Ivelina Katerinova, Simona Tchakarova, Maria Antoniou, Jorian Prodhomme, Denis Sereno, Vladimir Ivović, Katja Adam, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Climate and land-use changes influence the transmission of vector-borne diseases by affecting the distribution and survival of disease vectors. Numerous diseases are transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), including leishmaniasis. Several major sand fly-borne diseases are responsible for high global disease burdens and high socio-economic costs. In Europe, over 20 known sand fly vector species are largely confined to the Mediterranean Basin, yet records of sand fly presence further north increase. Global warming is predicted to drive the spread of sand flies to large areas of Europe in the 21th century, an effect likely to be exacerbated by anthropogenic factors. However, the constraints to the geographic distributions of sand flies are not well understood. This study aims to increase the understanding of the drivers of the geographic distributions of sand flies, using species distribution modelling to systematically test links between sand fly occurrences and climatic, land-use, lithological, biodiversity and human population variables in Europe and adjacent Mediterranean regions. We found that moisture is the most important environmental variable both in explaining and in predicting sand fly occurrences. The projected suitable habitats are larger than the current known sand fly distributions, and these habitats are expected to expand due to changes in climate and land-use.
Keywords: climate change, land-use, moisture, phlebotomine sand fly, species distribution modelling, suitable habitat
Published in RUP: 06.11.2025; Views: 330; Downloads: 8
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2. Recent advances in Phlebotomine sand fly research : a review based on studies presented at ISOPS XIVladimir Ivović, Gioia Bongiorno, Petr Volf, Yara Traub Cseko, Jeffrey Jon Shaw, Dia Elnaiem, Shaden Kamhawi, Eva Iniguez, Carla Maia, Suzana Blesić, 2025, review article Abstract: The 11th International Symposium on Phlebotomine Sand flies (ISOPS XI) took place in Portorož, Slovenia, in September 2024 and brought together experts from around the world to discuss recent advances in the biology, ecology and control of phlebotomine sand flies and the pathogens they transmit. This report summarises the key findings of the symposium and is organised thematically by session. Key topics included the development of refined experimental models of Leishmania transmission, new insights into the interactions between vector, parasite and microbiota, and the detection of Leishmania donovani in new geographic regions. Advances in molecular diagnostics and surveillance technologies were emphasised, as were emerging concerns about insecticide resistance. The potential of paratransgenesis and symbiont-based vector control approaches was also emphasised. In a separate session, the CLIMOS project was presented, which integrates climate monitoring, ecological modelling and public health tools to develop an early warning system (EWS) for sand fly-borne diseases. Overall, the contributions to the symposium reflect the dynamic development of sand fly research in response to global environmental change and emphasise the importance of international collaboration in combating emerging vector-borne diseases.
Keywords: Phlebotomine sand flies, vector competence, surveillance, climate change, taxonomy, ISOPS
Published in RUP: 30.10.2025; Views: 270; Downloads: 4
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3. Variations in the population structure of Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in relation to the presence of potential dog hostsVladimir Ivović, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: The seasonal and circadian population dynamics of Phlebotomine sandflies depend on many environmental factors, especially temperature and humidity. However, the factors that influence fluctuations in species composition are more uncertain. During the regular monitoring of arthropod vectors in the Slovenian coastal region, an interesting change in the population dynamics of these insects was observed, depending on the presence or absence of domestic dogs. To investigate the changes in species composition, we set traps for adult flies at two different locations (Medljan and Cetore) in the Coastal-Karst region (Izola, Slovenia). The collections were carried out in June and July 2017 and 2018. In total, 632 specimens of four species (Phlebotomus papatasi, P. neglectus, P. perniciosus and P. mascittii) were collected in the study area in both years. The females of all sandfly species were examined for the presence of Leishmania parasites in both years, but no Leishmania DNA was detected. The relocation of hunting dogs as potential reservoir hosts from Cetore to another location in early 2018 significantly changed the species composition of the sandflies. Two species, P. neglectus and P. perniciosus, were no longer present at this site. Changes in the species composition and population dynamics of phlebotomine sandflies are probably related to the presence or absence of the Leishmania reservoir host.
Keywords: Phlebotomine sandflies, population dynamics, dogs
Published in RUP: 07.08.2025; Views: 397; Downloads: 3
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4. Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in eight Balkan countries : historical review and region-wide entomological surveyVít Dvořák, Ozge E. Kasap, Vladimir Ivović, Ognyan Mikov, Jovana Stefanovska, F. Martinković, Jasmin Omeragić, Igor Pajović, Devrim Baymak, G. Oguz, 2020, original scientific article Keywords: Phlebotomine, sand fly, Balkans, species, morphology
Published in RUP: 24.12.2020; Views: 2805; Downloads: 37
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6. Re-emergence of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Greek island of CreteVasiliki Christodoulou, Maria Antoniou, Pantelis Ntais, Ippokratis Messaritakis, Vladimir Ivović, Jean-Pierre Dedet, Francine Pratlong, Vít Dvořák, Yiannis Tselentis, 2012, original scientific article Keywords: Leishmania tropica MON-300, L. infantum, Phlebotomine sand flies, Crete
Published in RUP: 15.10.2015; Views: 4021; Downloads: 120
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