Observaciones sobre el parasito leishmania mexicana amazonensis y la infeccion natural que provoca en el flebotomo lutzomyia olmeca nociva / Observations on the parasite leishmania mexicana amazonensis and its natural infection of the sand fly lutzomyia olmeca nociva

RESUMO

In 1984 the authors began a search for vectors of the Leishmania mexicana amazonensis parasite in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus by capturing phlebotomines (sandflies) at two periurban collection sites and seeking to isolate the parasite from them. One collection site yielded no positive specimens, but the older yielded 10 sandflies infected with Le m. amazonensis. Six of the positive specimens belonged to the sandfly species Lutzomyia flaviscutellata, and four belonged to the species Lu. olmeca nociva. This is the first time that the latter species has been incriminated as a possible vector of Le. m. amazonensis and the first record of Lu. flaviscutellata being infected with this parasite outside of Para State. The capture of infected phlebotomines at one site but no at another similar nearby site is reminiscent of previous results reported by Lainson and Shaw. Whether or not these results indicate the existence of discrete transmission foci is still unclear