Effect of Lutzomyia whitmani (Diptera: Psychodidae) salivary gland lysates on Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection in BALB/c mice

Previous reports showed that Lutzomyia longipalpis saliva exacerbate Leishmania braziliensis infection in mice. The sand fly Lu. whitmani is one of the vectors of L. (Viannia) braziliensis (LVb), a causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the State of Ceará, Brazil. To determine whether saliva of Lu. whitmani could increase the infectivity of LVb in mice, we inoculated groups of BALB/c mice with LVb promastigotes in the presence or absence of the salivary glands lysate from Lu. whitmani. We found that coinjection with Lu. whitmani saliva increased size but not longevity of cutaneous LVb lesions in BALB/c mice, since the formed lesions gradually resolved. The mechanism(s) by which Lu. whitmani saliva might exacerbate LVb infection in BALB/c mice is speculated

Avaliaçäo do teste de aglutinaçäo direta na detecçäo da infecçäo por Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis em possíveis reservatórios de leishmaniose tegumentar americana no estado do Ceará / Evaluation of the direct agglutination test for detecting of the Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection reservoir hosts of american cutaneous leishmaniasis in the State of Ceará

In order to evaluate the aplicability of the Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) as a method of detection of the natural canine infection for Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, it was realized a study involving the serum of naive dogs from Serra de Baturite, Ceara State, an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and others from Curitiba, Parana State, a non endemic area. The results indicate the possibility of using this sorologic test to the epidemiologic research of the infection in the reservoir host; in this case, the dog.