PHENOTYPIC AND MOLECULAR DETECTION OF BIO-ECOLOGICAL CUTANEOSIS LEISHMANISIS VECTOR (DIPTERA: PSYCHODIDAE), AND IDENTIFICATION OF LEISHMANIA PARASITE IN CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS CASES IN ERBIL PROVINCE

Abstract

Phlebotomine sandflies are an important group of insects from a medical perspective that are responsible for the transmission of leishmaniasis. The phenotypic and genotypic investigation of species of sand flies (Al Harms) as the vector of CL, with the microscopic investigation of bio-Ecological CL in Patients was conducted in the Erbil province-Iraq for the first time between January and December 2022. Out of 2054 collected samples 1137 (55.4%) were male and 917 (44.6%) were female. statistically, there is no correlation between gender and sandfly species at (P=0.20). Three species were identified as belonging to the genus Phlepotomus: P. papatasi, P. sergenti, and P. alexandria. P. papatasi was the most common species, with 1163 (15.6%), followed by P. sergenti 598 (29.1%), and P. alexandri 293(14.1%). There were two peaks of seasonal abundance of sand flies, the first peak of the seasonally abundant CL vectors occurred in May, while the second peak occurred in September, statistically, there is a correlation between the periods and sand fly species at (p0.05) in the CL rate, which was higher in males than females 84(62.2%) versus 51 (37.8%). CL had a significant frequency and was the most frequent endemic disease in the Makhmur district. In this investigation, 82patients (65.6%) were shown to have CL infection in a lab setting. A CL infection is more likely to affect younger age groups. The investigation discovered two cases of severe and numerous CL lesions in children younger than a year old. At 63 cases (46.6%), CL was most common in the 1 to 25-year-old age range. In terms of clinical outcomes, the most frequently affected areas by CL were the upper limbs in 62/135 patients (45.9%), the lower limbs in 39/135 patients (28.9%), and the face (including the ears and nose) in 28/135 patients (20.7%). Additionally, 6/135 patients (4.4%) had several organs in their bodies where CL lesions were found. P