Emergence of sandflies (Phlebotominae) in Austria, a Central European country
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Emergence of sandflies (Phlebotominae) in Austria, a Central European country Wolfgang Poeppl & Adelheid G. Obwaller & Martin Weiler & Heinz Burgmann & Gerhard Mooseder & Susanne Lorentz & Friedrich Rauchenwald & Horst Aspöck & Julia Walochnik & Torsten J. Naucke
Received: 31 July 2013 / Accepted: 19 September 2013 / Published online: 15 October 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract The possible existence of autochthonous sandfly populations in Central Europe north of the Alps has long been excluded. However, in the past years, sandflies have been documented in Germany, Belgium, and recently, also in Austria, close to the Slovenian border. Moreover, autochthonous human Leishmania and Phlebovirus infections have been reported in Central Europe, particularly in Germany. From W. Poeppl : H. Burgmann Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria W. Poeppl : G. Mooseder Department of Dermatology and Tropical Medicine, Military Hospital Vienna, Vienna, Austria A. G. Obwaller Division of Science, Research and Development, Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports, Vienna, Austria M. Weiler Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports, Austrian NBC-Defence-School, Korneuburg, Austria S. Lorentz : T. J. Naucke Parasitus Ex e.V., Niederkassel, Germany F. Rauchenwald Bayer Austria Ges.m.b.H., Vienna, Austria H. Aspöck : J. Walochnik (*) Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria e-mail: [email protected] T. J. Naucke Department of Zoology, Division of Parasitology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany T. J. Naucke Laboklin GmbH & Co. KG, Bad Kissingen, Germany
2010 to 2012, sandfly trapping (740 trap nights) was performed at 53 different capture sites in Austria using battery-operated CDC miniature light traps. Sites were chosen on the basis of their climate profile in the federal states Styria, Burgenland, and Lower Austria. Sandfly specimens found were transferred to 70 % ethanol for conservation. Identification was based on morphological characters of the male genitalia and the female spermathecae, respectively. Altogether, 24 specimens, 22 females and 2 males, all identified as Phlebotomus (Transphlebotomus ) mascittii Grassi, 1908, were found at six different sampling sites in all three federal states investigated. The highest number of catches was made on a farm in Lower Austria. Altogether, the period of sandfly activity in Austria was shown to be much longer than presumed, the earliest capture was made on July 3rd and the latest on August 28th. Sandflies have been autochthonous in Austria in small foci probably for long, but in the course of global warming, further spreading may be expected. Although P. mascittii is only an assumed vector of Leishmania spp.—data on its experimental transmission capacity are still lacking— the wide distribution of sandflies in Austria, a coun
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