Unlocking sand fly biodiversity in Nepal: Enhancing disease control through DNA-barcoding

Sand fly-borne diseases have a significant impact on global public health, although they are typically overlooked. In the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, over 46 cryptic species within the genera Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia play a key role in transmitting diseases such as visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. The role of Phlebotomus (Euphlebotomus) argentipes as a primary vector for L. donovani highlights the need of accurately identifying and monitoring sand fly species in order to create efficient disease management methods. This study used both morphological and molecular techniques to examine the genetic diversity of Phlebotomine sand flies across Nepal, supporting the national VL elimination program a critical public health initiative given the disease's fatality rate, which is over 95% in untreated cases. This study assessed the DNA barcoding method's utility for identifying and measuring genetic diversity within and among Phlebotomus species collected in Nepal. A total of 315 sand fly specimens from six districts in Nepal were analyzed, together with available data from BOLD and GenBank. The identification success rate using DNA barcoding was 97%, with interspecific genetic divergence ranging from 12.23% (S. babu and S. punjabensis) to 23.45% (P. argentipes and Sergentomyia sp1). For the genus Phlebotomus , including the vector species, the overall divergence averaged 14.89%. The lowest intraspecific genetic divergence was observed in P. transcaucasicus (0.08%), and the highest in P. major (5.85%). The results confirm that the COI barcoding method is an effective tool for identifying sand fly species in Nepal, providing critical data for disease control initiatives and enhancing global understanding of vector-borne diseases

Fuentes primarias y secundarias relativas al Retablo de Móstoles

Academic blo

Ecosystem links: Anthropogenic activities, environmental variables, and macrophytes structure snail preferences in man-made waterbodies

Freshwater snails act as obligate intermediate hosts for trematode parasites that cause trematodiases threatening public and veterinary health, and biodiversity conservation. While interest in snail control for trematodiases has re-emerged, their ecology remains poorly understood. We examined the relationship between ecosystem indicators such as environmental variables, macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, and land use and their correlation with snail abundance, diversity, and infection prevalence in 19 man-made ponds in eastern Zimbabwe. In total, 926 freshwater snails from 10 species were collected, with 547 individuals belonging to five schistosome-competent species: Bulinus tropicus, Bulinus truncatus, Bulinus globosus, Bulinus forskalii, and Biomphalaria pfeifferi. The remaining 379 snails comprised Radix natalensis, Gyraulus sp., and the exotic invasive species Melanoides tuberculata, Pseudosuccinea columella, and Physella acuta. Six cercarial types mammalian schistosomes, avian schistosomes, longifurcate pharyngeates, echinostomes, amphistomes, and xiphidiocercariae were isolated from 104 out of 926 snails (11.2 %). PCR revealed a significantly higher infection rate, with 70.2 % of snails testing positive for trematodes. Snail taxon diversity and infection rate significantly varied across land use types, with the lowest values observed in the commercial tobacco farm section, highlighting the potential adverse effects of agriculture on biodiversity. Ponds with extensive Lagarosiphon major (oxygen weed) coverage appeared to facilitate the presence and abundance of P. acuta and P. columella. Schistosome-competent snails such as B. truncatus and B. tropicus seemed to favor shallow water depths and more eutrophic sites characterized by high levels of nitrates, phytoplankton biomass, turbidity, and phycocyanin. These ponds were predominantly associated with the emergent macrophyte Cladium mariscus, revealing a potential association with important intermediate snail hosts. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the complex interplay among environmental factors, macrophyte composition, land use, and the abundance, diversity, and infection prevalence of freshwater snails, offering insights into potential strategies for targeted snail control and disease management in man-made waterbodies

Slache, le rire brusseleir de la radio à la bande dessinée. Animer un personnage entre culture sonore et culture graphique

In the late 1930s, the humorist and cartoonist Marcel Antoine animated for Radio-Schaerbeek the misadventures of Slache, a stereotypical character with a Brussels accent. Presented in theaters and cabarets, covered in the press, and adapted into comics form for Spirou, Slache enjoyed a brief but dazzling popular success. This article reconstructs the multimedia trajectory of Slache and its creator Marcel Antoine in order to unravel networks of circulation between radio, the performing arts, the illustrated press, cartoons and comics. The article takes up the issues of this transmedia circulation between sound culture and graphic culture in terms of materiality, seriality and auctoriality.À la fin des années 1930, l’humoriste et dessinateur Marcel Antoine anime les mésaventures de Slache, un personnage-type s’exprimant avec l’accent bruxellois, sur les ondes de Radio-Schaerbeek. Joué sur les scènes de théâtre et de cabarets, relayé dans la presse, et adapté sous forme de bandes dessinées dans Spirou, Slache connut un bref mais fulgurant succès populaire. Cet article reconstruit cette trajectoire multi-médiatique de Slache et de son créateur Marcel Antoine afin de saisir les réseaux de circulation entre la radio, les arts de la scène, la presse illustrée, le dessin humoristique et la bande dessinée. L’article s’empare des enjeux de cette circulation transmédiatique entre culture sonore et culture graphique en termes de matérialité, de sérialité et d’auctorialité