field evaluation of outdoor ultra-low volume (ulv) applications against phlebotomine sand flies (diptera: psychodidae) in al rabta, north-west of libya

Background: al rabta is a rural area in the north-west of libya that represents an important focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis. this study aimed to evaluate the effect of ultra low volume (ulv) applications in control-ling sand flies and its impact on leishmaniasis transmission in this area. methods: two neighboring villages were selected: al rabta west (rw) as cypermethrin treated village and al rabta east (re) as check one. the ulv was evaluated through 3 spraying cycles during apr, jun and sep 2013. in the two villages, a number of outdoor sites were selected for sampling of sand flies (twice a month) using the cdc light traps. the cases of cl reported in the two villages during the study period were obtained from al rabta health center. results: the two villages were similar where 9 species of sand flies (6 of phlebotomu and 3 of sergentomyia) were collected of which s. minuta and p. papatasi were the abundant species. as compared to the pre- ulv spraying, during the post- spraying periods: i) the reduction in abundance of the different species ranged from 20.85 to 77.52% with 46.69% as an overall reduction for all species altogether and, ii) in significantly (p˃ 0.05) higher mean ratio of males: females for all species altogether (1:2.41). moreover, ulv spraying resulted in the absence of cl (leishmania major) cases (passive case detection) conclusion: the efficiency of ulv spraying in reducing sand fly population, cl cases and consequently limits the disease transmission.