[Control of phlebotomine sandflies and the latest development in this field]

Phlebotomine sandflies make people uncomfortable because of biting and because they transmit various diseases. Especially, leishmaniasis is a serious public health problem in a number of countries, and requires control management. No effective control methods have been found for immature sandflies. On the contrary, the studies on destruction and modification of their habitats have found to be suitable for mature sandflies. Barrier spraying method recommended for exophilic sandflies are generally unsustainable and uneconomical. Although residual insecticide spraying of dwellings is successful in urban areas with high concentrations of endophilic sandflies, it may be both impractical and ineffective in rural areas where dwellings are more dispersed and surrounded by a large, untargeted reservoir of sandflies. Therefore, insecticide impregnated bed nets and curtains may be the best choice in rural areas. However, these applications do not replace other methods. Control of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis would be control with insecticide-impregnated dog collars. In addition, alternative control methods such as avermectin or microbial agents spraying of the sandflies' sugar supplying vegetation and the use of pheromone baits are still under investigation. Moreover, antibodies produced by the host against the salivary glands of sandflies shown promise in the development of vaccination in the control of both sandflies and leishmaniasis.