Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) transmitting visceral leishmaniasis and their geographical distribution in China: a review

After the existence of phlebotomine sand flies was first reported in China in 1910, the distribution of different species and their role in the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been extensively studied. Up until 2008, four species have been verified as vectors of VL, namely, Phlebotomus chinensis (Ph. sichuanensis), Ph. longiductus (Ph. chinensis longiductus), Ph. wui (Ph. major wui), and Ph. alexandri. The sand fly species vary greatly depending on the natural environments in the different geographic areas where they are endemic. Ph. chinensis is euryecious and adaptable to different ecologies, and is thus distributed widely in the plain, mountainous, and Loess Plateau regions north of the Yangtze River. Ph. longiductus is mainly distributed in ancient oasis areas south of Mt. Tianshan in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Ph. wui is the predominant species in deserts with Populus diversifolia and Tamarix vegetation in Xinjiang and the western part of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Finally, Ph. alexandri is steroecious and found only in stony desert areas, such as at the foot of the mountains in Xinjiang and the western Hexi Corridor, in Gansu province. This review summarized the relationship between the geographic distribution pattern of the four sand fly species and their geographical landscape in order to foster research on disease distribution and sand fly control planning. Furthermore, some problems that remained to be solved about vectors of VL in China were discussed. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-016-0107-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.