Isolation of Phlebotomus Fever Virus from Phlebotomus Papatasi and Determination of the Host Ranges of Sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in West Pakistan1
Sandflies collected in the vicinity of Lahore and Peshawar, West Pakistan were identified to species and sex. The source of the blood-meal of freshly-engorged sandflies was determined by precipitin testing using avian, bovine, canine, equine, human, sheep, murine and reptilian antisera. Most Phlebotomus papatasi had fed on humans or cattle, but birds, dogs, and horses were also identified as hosts. P. sergenti had fed on birds, bovines, and humans. Most of the blood-engorged Sergentomyia yielded negative test results, but one S. baghdadis had fed on a human, and 2 blood smears from S. babu blood-meals reacted weakly with avian antiserum. The single virus isolate obtained was from a pool of P. papatasi and this agent was identified by neutralization tests in suckling mice as Sicilian phlebotomus fever virus.