Argentinian phlebotomine fauna, new records of Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) for the country and the province of Chaco.

Sand flies are insects of medical and veterinary importance, because some species are able to transmit several pathogens such as Bartonella spp., Phlebovirus spp., and protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania (Ross).

Incipient colonisation of Lutzomyia longipalpis in the city of Resistencia, province of Chaco, Argentina (2010-2012).

Lutzomyia longipalpis was recorded for the first time in Argentina in 2004, in the province of Formosa. In the following years, the vector spread to the south and west in the country and was recorded in the province of Chaco in 2010. From November 2010-May 2012, captures of Phlebotominae were made in the city of Resistencia and its surroundings, to monitor the spread and possible colonisation of Lu.

Identification of the natural breeding sites of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), potential vectors of leishmaniasis, in the province of Chaco, Argentina.

The aim of this work was to identify the natural breeding sites of sandflies in the province of Chaco, Argentina, for the first time. Preliminary studies were conducted in two different phytogeographic regions: dry Chaco (Parque Provincial Pampa del Indio), in January 2010, and humid Chaco (Resistencia, Margarita Belén and Colonia Benítez), from May-September 2010. A total of 127 samples were collected (Pampa del Indio: 15, Resistencia: 37, Margarita Belén: 36, Colonia Benítez: 39).

[Distribution of Lutzomyia longipalpis in the Chaco region, Argentina, 2010].

The appearance of the vector of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) Lutzomyia longipalpis in the province of Formosa in 2004 was associated with urban epidemic risk for the first time in Argentina. During 2006, vectors, canine and human cases of VL were reported in the province of Misiones, and in summer 2008-2009, in the province of Corrientes. In Santiago del Estero province in 2008, cases of human and canine VL were associated with secondary vectors.