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Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most important neglected disease reported in North Africa, Algeria ranks second in the world with more than 5000 cases per year. In Algeria, two rodent species Psammomys obesus and Meriones shawi, are so far known as proven reservoirs of Leishmania major, however, they are absent in several endemic localities. In this study, we experimentally infected Gerbillus rodents trapped around human dwellings in Illizi, Algeria to assess their susceptibility to L. major. Seven gerbils, morphologically and molecularly identified as Gerbillus amoenus, were intradermally inoculated with 104 parasites derived from culture, monitored for six months and their infectiousness for sand flies was tested by xenodiagnosis. The study revealed that G. amoenus was susceptible to L. major and was able to maintain and transmit the parasites to sand flies tested six months after infection, suggesting the role of this gerbil as a potential reservoir for L. major.

Background: Bed bugs are hematophagous insects with a long history of presence in human communities. Over the last three decades, infestations by bed bugs in human dwellings have drastically increased, leading to a rise in bed bug concerns. Nevertheless, very little is known about the bed bug species and their population diversity in Algeria. Method: A pilot entomological inventory was performed in May 2019 in Tizi Ouzou, in northern Algeria. The gathered bed bug specimens were identified by morphological and molecular approaches, followed by neighbor-joining and network phylogenetic analyses. Results: A total of seven out of 12 requested locations were allowed to inspect for bed bug infestation. Of these, three locations were found with active bed bug infestations. A total of 145 specimens belonging to different life stages [egg (21), nymph (74), adult male (17), and female (33)] were collected and analyzed using morphological and molecular approaches. The adult specimens were identified as Cimex lectularius according to specific morphological criteria, most importantly the pronotum laterally expanded with more flattened extreme margins. Morphological identification of the adults was confirmed further by conventional PCR targeting 450 bp fragment of the COI gene. All the nymphs and eggs were also molecularly identified as C. lectularius. Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic tree reconstructed with the collected specimens provides clues on the presence of two closely phylogenetic groups. The first one gathers our samples of Algeria with previously reported COI haplotype sequences from Asian, European, and North American countries. The second group encompasses a lesser-documented haplotype reported in Europe and Central America. These findings were further confirmed by network analysis. Conclusions: These results provide evidence of established C. lectularius infestation in Algeria and its potential dispersal capacity by travelers or immigrants and will help future management of these ectoparasites.

Mosquitoes play an important role in public health, they are responsible for the transmission of pathogens that cause infectious diseases to both humans and animals. The study of this fauna biodiversity is necessary to determine the vector species of diseases. Our inventory of mosquitoes in Tizi-Ouzou province has been updated in this study, it was carried out from April to September, 2021 at 43 breeding sites, spread over ten different communes. The inventory was based on the sampling of larvae and the capture of adults on human bait. The identification of Culicidae inventoried revealed the presence of 14 species belonging to five genera and two subfamilies. We report the first citation of four species for this region, these are Culex (Culex) laticinctus Edwards, 1913, Culex (Culex) mimeticus Noe, 1899, Aedes (Ochlerotatus) berlandi (Seguy, 1921) and Coquillettidia (Coquillettidia) richiardii (Ficalbi, 1889). The genus Coquillettidia was cited for the first time in Tizi-Ouzou. The data of this study was exploited by the ecological indices in order to have the relative abundance and the frequency of occurrence.

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