Phlebotomus is a genus of "sand fly" in the Dipteran family Psychodidae. In the past, they have sometimes been considered to belong in a separate family, Phlebotomidae, but this alternative classification has not gained wide acceptancehttp://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/diptera/names/famlistt.htm

Epidemiology

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In the Old World, Phlebotomus sand flies are primarily responsible for the transmission of leishmaniasis, an important parasitic disease, while transmission in the New World, is generally via sand flies of the genus Lutzomyia. The protozoan parasite itself is a species of the genus Leishmania. Leishmaniasis normally finds a mammalian reservoir in rodents and other small animals such as canids and hyraxes. The female sand fly carries the Leishmania protozoa from infected animals after feeding, thus transmitting the disease, while the male feeds on plant nectar.

Phlebotomus species are also vectors for phlebotomus fever, an arbovirus caused by Toscana virus, a member of the genus Phlebovirus (family Bunyaviridae).^, }}

Historical

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The genus Flebotomus was created by Camillo Rondani and Berté in 1840. The name was amended to Phlebotomus by Loew in 1845.

References

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Parasites | Flies