Bloodthirsty Bites: A Study of Sandfly Feeding Patterns in the Aegean Region of Türkiye

Background This study determined the blood-feeding patterns of wild-caught sandflies collected from provinces (Aydin and Mugla) in the Aegean region in Türkiye. Adult sandflies were collected using three CDC light traps per village in August and October 2024. A total of 280 sandfly specimens (194 females and 86 males) were collected during the study. Of the 194 female specimens, 38 (23 from Aydin and 15 from Mugla) were found to be blood-fed, 137 were non-blood-fed, and 19 were gravid. In total, DNA was extracted from 38 blood-fed sandflies using Invitrogen PureLink genomic DNA isolation kit. To determine the blood-feeding patterns of these insects, the mitochondrial cytochrome b ( cytb ) gene region was amplified via multiplex PCR using specific primers. Results The PCR results showed that 23 sand fly females sampled from Aydin locality fed mostly from cows (60.5%) followed by dogs (21%) and chickens (18.4%). All the samples collected from Aydin blood fed from cows whereas for females sampled from Mugla locality, 53% blood-fed from dogs and 46% from birds. Host preference of the samples was also subjected to ELISA reaction to identify samples whose host preference could not be determined by PCR and to see if there were multiple host preferences. Our bird primers used in PCR methods, could not identify the blood meal from chickens, probably due to low amounts of the blood ingested having been digested or DNA was denatured. However, the ELISA studies clearly elucidated the host of these samples. Despite the limitations and disadvantages inherent to both methods, which are the most frequently employed in blood meal analysis, all samples were successfully analyzed in the present study, and the results obtained by both methods were highly consistent with each other. Conclusion In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the region to analyse ELISA and PCR methodologies in a comparative manner in relation to host feeding patterns of sand flies. The detection of blood meal in field-caught sand flies has the potential to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the eco-epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, thereby contributing to the planning of strategic control methods.