The race to discover the insect vector of kala-azar: a great saga of tropical medicine 1903-1942.

In the 19(th) century, a devastating epidemic of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) swept through northeast India. After identification of the pathogenic agent, Leishmania donovani, in 1903, the question of its transmission remained to be resolved. In 1904, thanks to work by L.

A possible role for Phlebotomus (Anaphlebotomus) rodhaini (Parrot, 1930) in transmission of Leishmania donovani.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL, kala azar), caused by Leishmania donovani is a major health problem in Sudan and other East African countries. In this region the only proven vectors of L. donovani are Phlebotomus orientalis in eastern Sudan, Ethiopia and Upper Nile areas of Southern Sudan and Phlebotomus martini in Ethiopia, Kenya and Southern Sudan.

Education is key to controlling visceral leishmaniasis.

Costly and onerous treatment as well as resistance to drugs and pesticides are major challenges to the ambitious goal of eliminating visceral leishmaniasis. However, Dr Robert Killick-Kendrick is optimistic about recent advances in treatment and control.

Multifarious characterization of leishmania tropica from a Judean desert focus, exposing intraspecific diversity and incriminating phlebotomus sergenti as its vector.

The predominant sand fly species collected inside houses in Kfar Adumim, an Israeli village in the Judean Desert that is a focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis, was Phlebotomus papatasi, which was also caught attempting to bite humans. Phlebotomus sergenti, which is rarely seen inside houses, constituted the predominant sand fly species in caves near the village. Leishmania isolates from Ph.

Detection of amastigote-like forms in the valve of Phlebotomus papatasi infected with Leishmania major.

A massive and homogeneous amount of amastigote-like forms was detected in the stomodeal valve (SV) and the thoracic mid-gut (TMG) of Leishmania major-infected Phlebotomus papatasi, which received a second blood meal 13 to 21 days post-infection on healthy anaesthetized hamsters. After re-feeding, the infected sand flies were dissected out to examine the morphology of the parasite in SV, TMG and the abdominal mid-gut (AMG). Different promastigote forms were seen in the infected flies.

Mark-release-recapture of sand flies fed on leishmanial dogs: the natural life-cycle of Leishmania infantum in Phlebotomus ariasi.

Wild-caught Phlebotomus ariasi Tonnoir permitted to feed on dogs infected with Leishmania infantum Nicolle were marked with fluorescent powder and released into their natural habitat in an uninhabited area of the Cévennes in southern France. Over a period of 29 days after release, 253 females were recaptured with CDC miniature light traps or by active search at night with portable UV lamps. The ovaries and infections in the alimentary tract were then examined.

Deltamethrin-impregnated dog collars have a potent anti-feeding and insecticidal effect on Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lutzomyia migonei.

Deltamethrin-impregnated PVC dog collars were tested to assess if they were effective in protecting dogs from sand fly bites of Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lu. migonei. A protective effect against Old World species Phlebotomus perniciosus was demonstrated before.

Molecular systematics of the phlebotomine sandflies of the subgenus Paraphlebotomus (diptera, psychodidae, phlebotomus) based on ITS2 rDNA sequences. Hypotheses Of dispersion and speciation.

Phylogenetic Paraphlebotomus relationships are inferred by a study based on the sequences of ITS2, which has been sequenced in nine Paraphlebotomus species: P. alexandri, P. andrejevi, P.

Courtship and mating by the sandfly Phlebotomus duboscqi, a vector of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Afrotropical region.

Courtship behaviour of males of the Afrotropical sandfly Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu-Lemaire (Diptera: Psychodidae) involved mounting the female and clasping her 'waist' with the male coxites placed between the female's thorax and abdomen. This behaviour, which we call 'piggy-backing', was preceded by male wing beating, perhaps involving mate recognition and contact pheromones. It did not seem to be pre- or postcopulatory mate guarding.

The genital atrium as a good taxonomic character to distinguish between species of phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Venezuela.

The shape and size of the genital atria of 17 phlebotomine sandflies from Venezuela were examined. The atria were found to express constant characters among individuals of the same species and to be sufficiently different between species to allow taxonomic separation. The spines on the genital armature are described and the characters that can be used to classify individual specimens to species level identified.

[Description of Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) riouxi n. sp. (Diptera:Psychodidae) of northern Africa].

Description of a new palearctic species from Morocco, Tunisia and Spain: Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) riouxi closely related to P. chabaudi. Differential identification with the neighbouring species.

Mitochondrial haplotypes and phylogeography of Phlebotomus vectors of Leishmania major.

Haplotypes of eight phlebotomine species were characterized by cycle sequencing a mitochondrial (mt) DNA fragment (cytochrome b to NADH1) amplified from single sandflies by PCR. Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) papatasi displayed little variation throughout its large geographical range. We conclude that this vector of Leishmania major suffered a population bottleneck late in the Pleistocene and then radiated out from the eastern Mediterranean subregion.

Phlebotomine sandflies of Kenya (Diptera: Psychodidae). V. Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) mireillae n.sp.

A new species of the sandfly subgenus Paraphlebotomus Theodor from Kenya is described and named Phlebotomus mireillae. The type locality is Utut Reserve, near Gilgil, Nakuru District. The description is based on 10 males and 10 females reared from individual egg batches of wild-caught females.

Protection of dogs from bites of phlebotomine sandflies by deltamethrin collars for control of canine leishmaniasis.

Dog collars made of PVC plastic impregnated with the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin at 40 mg/g were investigated for their protective efficacy against phlebotomine sandflies. Collared dogs were kept separately (two untreated control dogs lived together) in outdoor enclosures, each with a kennel, in the Cévennes, southern France. To measure sandfly mortality and anti-feeding effects due to the deltamethrin-impregnated collars worn continuously by the dogs for up to 8 months, each dog was periodically sedated and exposed for 2h to 150-200 laboratory-reared Phlebotomus perniciosus females (plus c.

Post-engorgement dynamics of haemagglutination activity in the midgut of phlebotomine sandflies.

Haemagglutination activity (HA) was studied in gut extracts of both sexes of adults of six sandfly species. HA was sex dependent, with the activity in males more than 50 times lower than that of unfed females. In females, high HA was demonstrable in both the thoracic and abdominal midgut but not in the hindgut.

Agglutination of Leishmania promastigotes by midgut lectins from various species of phlebotomine sandflies.

Lectins which agglutinate Leishmania promastigotes were demonstrated in gut lysates from laboratory colonies of five Phlebotomus and two Lutzomyia species. In general, the highest agglutination titres were found in P. halepensis and Lu.

A laboratory model of canine leishmaniasis: the inoculation of dogs with Leishmania infantum promastigotes from midguts of experimentally infected phlebotomine sandflies.

Twenty-five dogs (beagles) were infected with Leishmania infantum by the intradermal inoculation of an estimated 5-8,000 metacyclic promastigotes harvested from the midguts of 320 experimentally infected P. perniciosus. Details are given of the methods of infecting the flies and harvesting the parasites.

The armature in the genital atrium as a new taxonomic character distinguishing females of Phlebotomus papatasi and P. duboscqi (Diptera: Psychodidae).

Descriptions are given of armatures in the genital atria of females of the two morphologically similar sandfly species, Phlebotomus papatasi and P. duboscqi. The species are distinguishable by the size and shape of the armature, the grouping of the spines in the armature and the length and shape of the spines.

Phlebotomine sandflies of Kenya (Diptera: Psychodidae). IV. The armature in the genital atrium of female Larroussius as a means of identification.

Descriptions are given of armatures in the genital atria of the six known Kenyan species of phlebotomine sandflies of the subgenus, Larroussius, namely Phlebotomus aculeatus, P. elgonensis, P. guggisbergi, P.

[The pharyngeal dentition of the females of Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu-Lemaire, 1906 and of Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli, 1786) (Diptera: Psychodidae)].

Phlebotomus duboscqi and P. papatasi are morphologically closely related species. Scanning electron microscopy showed constant differences between pharyngeal teeth of the females.