Experimental effect of feeding on ricinus communis and bougainvillea glabra on the development of the sand fly phlebotomus papatasi [diptera: psychodidae] from Egypt

Plants are promising sources of agents useful for the control of vectors of human diseases including leishmaniasis. The effect of Ricinus communis [Euphorbiaceae] and Bougainvillea glabra [Nyctaginaceae] on transmission of leishmaniasis was investigated using them as diets for Phlebotomus papalasi to monitor their effect on life-history traits. P. papatasi were allowed to feed separately on both plants then offered a blood-meal. Fed-females were observed daily for egg-laying and subsequent developmental stages. P. papatasi was able to feed on B. glabra [29.41% females and 46.30% males] and R. communis [5.80% females and 10.43% males]. 34.28% of females died within 24-48 hours post-feeding on R. communis, whereas, it was 16.5% in females fed on B. glabra. Overall fecundity of surviving females was reduced compared to controls, reared on standard laboratory diet; however there was no effect on the sex ratio of progeny. Female P. papatasi in the control group had significantly longer life span compared to plant-fed group. Feeding on these plants not only decreased sand fly survival rates but incurred negative effects on fecundity. Findings indicate that planting high densities of R. communis and B. glabra in sand flies-endemic areas will reduce population sizes and reduce the risk of Leishmania major infections

Natural and experimental evidence of viscerqtropic infection caused by leishmania tropica from North Sinai, Egypt

Cutaneous leishmaniasis [CL] is a neglected clinical form that is quite prevalent in Eastern North parts of the country in Sinai Peninsula. Leishmania tropica was identified by previous reports as the causative agent responsible for viscerotropic infections in-patients and experi-mental animals. Here, we reported the viscerotropic infections from naturally infected rodent Gerbillus pyramidum floweri collected from North-Sinai. Footpad and tail lesions, spleenomeg-aly, and malformed dark-colored spleen were the characteristic CL symptoms. The spleen of the rodent found positive to amastigote impression smear. ITS-1 DNA was sequenced and revealed 100% identity of the strain in the current study to the other L tropica sequences identified from the patients with the suspected CL and inhabited the same study area. The current findings confirmed the susceptibility of gerbil to L. tropica, and raise the concerns for the role of rodents as accidental host suffering the infections. The susceptibility of wild and experimental rodents to the same tropica strain was also investigated; BALB/c and G. pyramidum were more susceptible to L tropica [2433 +/- 4.37 and 25 +/- 4.58 days post-infection, respectively]. Similar viscero-tropic pathologies were reported in experimental infection of only golden hamster [" 120 days post-infection], and G p. floweri [ 160 days post-infection]