You are what you eat: a systematic review exploring the interaction between Brazilian sand flies and their vertebrate food sources

ABSTRACT

Sand flies play a crucial role as vectors of bacteria, viruses, and protists, with Leishmania being the most notable among them, transmitted to vertebrate hosts during blood feeding. Understanding the feeding behaviours of sand flies is imperative for gaining insights into their eco-epidemiological roles in the transmission of these infectious agents. This systematic review aimed to answer the question 'What are the blood-feeding sources identified in Brazilian sand flies?' to provide an analysis of their blood-feeding habits. The diverse range of at least 16 vertebrate orders identified as blood sources for 54 sand fly species across different geographic regions was summarised, and the factors potentially associated with the risk of bias in the included studies were analysed. The findings broaden the discussion concerning methods used to identify blood meal sources and shed light on the implications of sand fly feeding behaviours for the transmission dynamics of Leishmania.