title: Natural Leishmania (Viannia) spp. infections in phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) from the Brazilian Amazon region reveal new putative transmission cycles of American cutaneous leishmaniasis.
abstract: In Amazonian Brazil the etiological agents of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) belong to at least seven Leishmania species but little is known about the putative phlebotomine sand fly vectors in different biomes. In 2002-2003 a survey of the phlebotomine fauna was undertaken in the "Floresta Nacional do Tapajós", Belterra municipality, in the lower Amazon region, western Pará State, Brazil, where we recently confirmed the presence of a putative hybrid parasite, L. (V.) guyanensis × L. (V.) shawi shawi. Sand flies were collected from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps, Shannon traps and by aspiration on tree bases. Females were dissected and attempts to isolate any flagellate infections were made by inoculating homogenized midguts into Difco B(45) medium. Isolates were characterized by monoclonal antibodies and isoenzyme electrophoresis. A total of 9,704 sand flies, belonging to 68 species or subspecies, were collected. Infections were found in the following sand flies: L. (V.) naiffi with Psychodopygus hirsutus hirsutus (1) and Ps. davisi (2); and L. (V.) shawi shawi with Nyssomyia whitmani (3) and Lutzomyia gomezi (1). These results provide strong evidence of new putative transmission cycles for L. (V.) naiffi and L. (V.) s. shawi.
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adelson Alcimar Almeida
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thiago Vasconcelos
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Yara Lúcia Lins
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.affiliation: Tropical Medicine Nucleus, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Edna Aoba Yassui
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Iorlando da Rocha
authors.initials: Ida R
authors.lastname: Barata
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria das Graças Soares
authors.initials: Md
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Aprígio Nunes
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Sciences Institute, São Paulo University, São Paulo State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lainson
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Ananindeua, Pará State, Brazil - Tropical Medicine Nucleus, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Pará State, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando Tobias
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Silveira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D007891:Leishmania / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*