Sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the Bar area of Montenegro (Yugoslavia).

ABSTRACT

The species and ecology of sandflies present in the coastal district of Bar, which lies in Montenegro, an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), were investigated in 1996-1999. A mean of 10 cases of VL and a greater number of viral infections (some of which are attributed to pathogens transmitted by sandflies) are diagnosed each year in this district. Phlebotomus papatasi, P. perfiliewi, P. tobbi, P. neglectus and Sergentomyia minuta were collected, P. perfiliewi being recorded for the first time in Montenegro. The ecology and distribution of each of these five species are described and their role, if any, in the transmission of Leishmania to humans is discussed.