To identify Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) neivai naturally infected by Leishmania a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the analysis of 450 specimens (270 females, 180 males) collected in an endemic periurban area of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Insects were grouped into pools of 10 and positive results were achieved in 3/27 Lu. (N.) neivai female pools. Infection by L. (Viannia) braziliensis was confirmed after hybridizing PCR products with a subgenus-specific biotinylated probe. Considering the detection of three positive pools with at least one infected insect in each, an infection rate of 1.1% was estimated. Our results associated with epidemiologic data suggest a potential ability of Lu. (N.) neivai in transmitting L. braziliensis in Porto Alegre, where the first notifications of autochthonous cutaneous leishmaniasis in humans occurred in 2002, with an increase in the number of cases in recent years possibly as a consequence of deforestation and agricultural activities in the area.
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Med Vet Entomol
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Biology, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Caxias, Brazil.
Land use and cover changes lead to fragmentation of the natural habitats of sand flies and modify the epidemiological profile of leishmaniasis. This process contributes to the infestation of adjacent rural settlements by vector sand fly species with different degrees of adaptation, promoting leishmaniasis outbreaks. This study aimed to assess land use and cover changes over a 12-year period and investigate the diversity and abundance of sand fly assemblages in the rural area of Codó, Maranhão State, Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
December 2024
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
The olfactory response of insect vectors such as phlebotomine sand flies is a key facet for investigating their interactions with vertebrate hosts and associated vector-borne pathogens. Such studies are mainly performed by assessing the electrophysiological response and the olfactory behaviour of these arthropods towards volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by hosts. Nonetheless, few studies are available for species of the subgenera Lutzomyia and Nyssomyia in South America, leaving a void for Old World sand fly species of the genus Phlebotomus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcohealth
December 2024
Andreia Fernandes Brilhante, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde na Amazônia Ocidental, Universidade Federal do Acre, BR 364, KM02, Distrito Industrial, Rio Branco, Acre, 69920-900, Brazil.
Sand flies are a group of insects (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in which some species may transmit agents of leishmaniasis. This study aimed to analyze the sand fly fauna in urban parks in Rio Branco, capital of Acre state, addressing its diversity, infection by Leishmania, and food sources in sand fly females. The sand flies were collected with CDC-type automatic light traps installed in three urban parks in Rio Branco: Captain Ciríaco, Horto Florestal and Chico Mendes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Entomol
January 2025
Programa de Pós Graduação em Biologia de Agentes Infecciosos e Parasitários, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará,Belém, Pará State, Brazil.
Phlebotomine sand flies are insects of notorious importance in public health, mainly due to their involvement in the transmission of Leishmania protozoa. Their flight activity occurs predominantly in the twilight/night period, being stimulated mainly by the need to search for food and reproduction. Despite being naturally wild, some species are able to invade anthropized environments.
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