Protozoan, Animal, Socio-Ecological Factors, and Vectorial Diseases: The Leishmaniasis in the Province of Errachidia

Introduction

Parasitic diseases like Leishmaniasis pose a significant challenge to human health, being widespread and progressively more hazardous. Leishmaniases are illnesses transmitted by certain species of sand flies and are prevalent across tropical regions worldwide (Tonelli et al., 2021). Leishmaniasis is a common pathology affecting both humans and specific mammals. to humans and certain mammals. It is caused by flagellate protozoa of the genus Leishmania, which are carried by the bite of a dipteran insect vector, the female sandfly (Rosenthal & Marty, 2009). Phlebotomine are nematoceran insects belonging to the phylum Arthropoda, Order Diptera, Family Psychodidae and Subfamily Phlebotominae (Kertesz, 1904). This Subfamily is divided into five genera, Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia in the Old World, and Lutzomyia, Warileya, and Brumptomyia in the New World, according to the first classification presented by Lewis et al., (1977), based on the external morphological characteristics of sandflies. The second classification was presented by Galati (1995), who divided the Phlebotominae Subfamily into two genera, Hertigiini and Phlebotomini (Galati, 1995). Sandflies are tiny insects distributed worldwide (Zé-Zé et al., 2021) mesuring 1 to 3 mm long for adults, yellowish-black with a humped appearance; the body and wings have a hairy appearance (Boussa, 2008). Nearly 1000 species of sandflies are spread across six genera. Among them, only three genera—Phlebotomus, Lutzomyia, and Sergentomyia—include hematophagous species (Zé-Zé et al., 2021). The life span of sandflies varies from 20 to 75 days from egg hatching to adult emergence (Berthet-Beaufils, 2010). While exhibiting limited mobility, certain vectors have extensive geographical distributions, posing challenges for the implementation of control measures (Tonelli et al., 2021). The flight capacity of sand flies can be affected by climatic factors such as temperature, wind, and humidity. If the temperature is sufficiently high (19-20°C), if there is no wind and the humidity is high, they don't start to move until nightfall (Mazelet, 2004). There are several clinical forms in humans: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (LC), Visceral leishmaniasis also known as kala-azar (LV), and Cutaneous-mucosal leishmaniasis (LCM) (Rguioui, 2016). Like all Kinetoplastida, leishmania is characterized by the presence of a single mitochondrion comprising circular kinetoplastic DNA (Simpson, 1987). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is considered one of the main causes of public health problems worldwide. This vector-borne disease is endemic in 88 countries (in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Southern Europe) (Boussaa, 2008). cutanée et pour la leishmaniose viscérale (LV) étaient Donovani (Espinosa et al., 2018). Seasonal disease known as zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is associated with Phlebotomus papatasi, Scopoli, 1786, the main confirmed vector of L. major dynamics in North African countries (Karmaoui et al., 2022a). Morocco is one of the countries affected by leishmaniasis in this Mediterranean Basin. The disease used to be confined mainly to the arid regions of the Sahara, but outbreaks have become more frequent. This increase is probably due to climate change and the geographical spread of the vector. Morocco has four types of leishmaniasis including the rural cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major, the urban cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica, the utaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum, and the visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum (Boussaa, 2008).