title: Molecular mass screening to incriminate sand fly vectors of Andean-type cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ecuador and Peru.
abstract: Sand flies from the Andean areas of Ecuador and Peru were examined for Leishmania infections by using our recently established molecular mass screening method. Leishmanial minicircle DNA-positive sand flies were detected in 3 of 192 and 1 of 462 samples from Ecuador and Peru, respectively. Sand fly species were identified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, and the positive flies were Lutzomyia (Lu.) ayacuchensis and Lu. peruensis, respectively. Furthermore, cytochrome b and mannose-phosphate isomerase gene sequence analyses identified the parasites from Ecuador and Peru as Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana and L. (Viannia) peruviana, respectively. Thus, the mass screening method was confirmed to be a powerful tool for sand fly research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan. katoh@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hirotomo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Abraham G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Cáceres
authors.forename: Eduardo A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Tatsuyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mimori
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uezato
authors.forename: Jorge D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Marco
authors.forename: Paola A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Barroso
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hashiguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004484:Ecuador; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D007891:Leishmania / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000635:transmission*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010568:Peru; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000469:parasitology*