Présence et diversité des phlébotomes en région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté – Étude de terrain, été 2024

[Presence and diversity of sand flies in the region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté – Field study, summer 2024]Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of Leishmania protozoans and phleboviruses in the Mediterranean region. Sand flies are common in that context, but rarer north of the Alps. Few sand fly occurrence data exist in the northern half of France, and almost none are recent. To better assess the risk to human and animal health, we suggested performing a transversal field study to assess presence and diversity of sand flies in the French region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. This study follows and extends a field study that was achieved in 2023, searching for sand flies at many locations along a transect from the Alps to southern Netherlands. In July–August 2024, light traps, interception sticky traps, resting catches and human landing captures were performed at 26 localities distributed across the region, with at least one locality in each ‘arrondissement’ administrative unit (except those surveyed in 2023). A total of 144 samples were collected, resulting it detecting sand fly presence at 16 localities, yielding 74 specimens. Two species were captured: Phlebotomus mascittii and Ph. perniciosus. Both species were detected for the first time in several ‘département’ administrative units. While Ph. mascittii was found distributed all over the region except the Jura Mountain, Ph. perniciosus was restricted to the south and the west of the region. Site categories at which sand flies were the more frequently detected were barns or shelters with beaten earth floor, closed or open, as well as rocky areas. Based on both studies achieved in 2023 and 2024, we now have a first but decent overview of the sand fly fauna in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Results suggest a low risk of sand fly vectorial transmission in the region, but slightly higher in the southern part. Further studies are suggested to enhance and deepen the sand fly entomological understanding and the related vectorial risk. It remains crucial to collect data on canine and human leishmaniosis and possibly Tosana virus infections, for both imported cases and possible locally acquired ones, to refine the risk assessment.This FigShare item consists of:a study report [In French]a data set [Excel file]