Phlebotomine Fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae) and Infection by Leishmania spp. in Forest Fragments of a University Campus, Western Amazon

• Published in: Journal of medical entomology Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 218 - 223
• Main Authors: Gomes Carneiro, Ana Carolina, Alcici de Souza, Eduardo, Barroso, Edmilson Pereira, de Ávila, Márcia Moreira, Kohara Melchior, Leonardo Augusto, da Costa Rocha, Ricardo, Fernandes Shimabukuro, Paloma Helena, Bianchi Galati, Eunice Aparecida, Brilhante, Andréia Fernandes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Entomological Society of America 12.01.2023; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis; Animals; Brazil; College campuses; Cruz, Oswaldo; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; Fauna; Female; Females; Forests; Fragments; Habitat fragmentation; Health aspects; Infection; Insect Vectors - parasitology; Insects; Leishmania; Leishmania - genetics; Leishmaniasis; Male; Parasites; Phlebotominae; Phlebotomus; Polymerase chain reaction; Protozoa; Psychodidae - parasitology; SHORT COMMUNICATION; Universities; University Campus; Vectors; Brazil; Israel; Phlebotominae; University Campus; American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
• ISSN: 0022-2585; 1938-2928
• DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjac162

Forest fragments consist of important ecosystems for the maintenance of sand fly populations and Leishmania hosts. This study sought to identify the phlebotomine fauna and its infection by Leishmania spp. in forest fragments on the campus of the Federal University of Acre (UFAC), Western Amazon. Monthly collections with CDC traps were carried out from March 2020 to June 2021, in four forest fragments of UFAC. Male and female insects were processed and identified at species level. A sample of females was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to verify the presence Leishmania DNA. In total, 465 specimens were collected, of which 238 were males and 227 were females. The most frequent species were Nyssomyia antunesi (Coutinho, 1939) (47.3%), Trichophoromyia sp. (Mangabeira, 1942) (18.70%), and Ny. whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho, 1939) (8.81%). Molecular analysis detected the presence of Leishmania (Ross, 1903) DNA in a specimen of Ny. antunesi, and another one of Evandromyia walker (Newstead, 1914). The forest fragments of the university campus harbor a diverse sand fly fauna with the presence of Leishmania DNA in these insects, in addition to the presence of other species considered incriminated vectors of Leishmania parasites.