phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at o:2543 DOI 10.3390/pathogens12101190 First Detection and Molecular Analysis of Leishmania infantum DNA in Sand Flies of Kosovo Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the principal vectors of phleboviruses and Leishmania spp., the causative agents of leishmaniases. The Mediterranean sand fly fauna is diverse, and leishmaniasis, mainly caused by Leishmania infantum, is endemic in the Balkan countries. Despite recent entomological surveys, only some districts of Kosovo have been sampled for sand flies, with no proof/confirmation of L. infantum. This study aimed to gain further insights into the species composition of natural sand fly populations in previously unsampled districts and areas in Kosovo without reports of leishmaniasis and to detect Leishmania DNA in sand flies. A sand fly survey was conducted in 2022 in all seven districts of Kosovo. Collected females were screened for Leishmania DNA by PCR. Positive samples were sequenced and subjected to maximum likelihood analysis with reference sequences for further molecular characterization. The trapping activities at 114 different localities resulted in 3272 caught specimens, comprising seven sand fly species of two genera, namely Phlebotomus neglectus, Ph. perfiliewi, Ph. tobbi, Ph. papatasi, Ph. simici, Ph. balcanicus and Sergentomyia minuta. Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in three individual sand flies of Ph. neglectus and Ph. perfiliewi. This study provides the most extensive sand fly survey in Kosovo and reports the first record of L. infantum DNA in sand flies, indicating autochthonous circulation of L. infantum. eng Pcr Assay, Phlebotominae; Larroussius; leishmaniasis; PCR; Balkan; Kosovo 2024-02-15T08:57:39.643Z LOMv1.0 Author BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Xhekaj;Betim; FN:Betim Xhekaj END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Cvetkovikj;Aleksandar; FN:Aleksandar Cvetkovikj X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6582-7020 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Stefanovska;Jovana; FN:Jovana Stefanovska END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Poeppl;Wolfgang; FN:Wolfgang Poeppl END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Obwaller;Adelheid G.; FN:Adelheid G. Obwaller END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Fuehrer;Hans-Peter; FN:Hans-Peter Fuehrer X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4178-0133 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Dvořák;Vit; FN:Vit Dvořák X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5636-7483 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Behluli;Behlul; FN:Behlul Behluli END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Rexhepi;Agim; FN:Agim Rexhepi END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Sherifi;Kurtesh; FN:Kurtesh Sherifi END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Walochnik;Julia; FN:Julia Walochnik X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0356-2853 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Kniha;Edwin; FN:Edwin Kniha X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6875-7056 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Hoxha;Ina; FN:Ina Hoxha END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Platzgummer;Katharina; FN:Katharina Platzgummer END:VCARD https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/scheme https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/text Textdokument Text LOMv1.0 yes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 application/pdf 727403 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:2543 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:2543/thumbnail LOMv1.0 discipline