An illustrated guide for characters and terminology used in descriptions of Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae).

Phlebotomine (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) taxonomy has been studied extensively, primarily due to the role of these flies as vectors of various parasites, including species of Leishmania, Bartonella and arboviruses that cause diseases in humans and other vertebrates. We present some topics discussed at a round-table on phlebotomine taxonomy held at the Ninth International Symposium on Phlebotomine Sandflies (ISOPS IX) in Reims, France, in June 2016. To date, approximately one thousand phlebotomine species have been described worldwide, although in varying languages and mostly without standardization of characters and terminology. In the interest of standardization, we list the characters that should minimally be considered in the description of new phlebotomine taxa as well as annotated illustrations of several characters. For these characters, multiple illustrations are provided to show some of the variations. The preferred terms for all pertinent characters are listed as well as their synonyms in English, Portuguese, and French. Finally, we offer an updated list of abbreviations to be used for generic and subgeneric names.

Oroya fever and verruga peruana: bartonelloses unique to South America.

Bartonella bacilliformis is the bacterial agent of Carrión's disease and is presumed to be transmitted between humans by phlebotomine sand flies. Carrión's disease is endemic to high-altitude valleys of the South American Andes, and the first reported outbreak (1871) resulted in over 4,000 casualties. Since then, numerous outbreaks have been documented in endemic regions, and over the last two decades, outbreaks have occurred at atypical elevations, strongly suggesting that the area of endemicity is expanding. Approximately 1.7 million South Americans are estimated to be at risk in an area covering roughly 145,000 km2 of Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. Although disease manifestations vary, two disparate syndromes can occur independently or sequentially. The first, Oroya fever, occurs approximately 60 days following the bite of an infected sand fly, in which infection of nearly all erythrocytes results in an acute hemolytic anemia with attendant symptoms of fever, jaundice, and myalgia. This phase of Carrión's disease often includes secondary infections and is fatal in up to 88% of patients without antimicrobial intervention. The second syndrome, referred to as verruga peruana, describes the endothelial cell-derived, blood-filled tumors that develop on the surface of the skin. Verrugae are rarely fatal, but can bleed and scar the patient. Moreover, these persistently infected humans provide a reservoir for infecting sand flies and thus maintaining B. bacilliformis in nature. Here, we discuss the current state of knowledge regarding this life-threatening, neglected bacterial pathogen and review its host-cell parasitism, molecular pathogenesis, phylogeny, sand fly vectors, diagnostics, and prospects for control.

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of Lutzomyia longipalpis laboratory populations

O flebotomineo Lutzomyia longipalpis tem sido incriminado como vetor da leishmaniose visceral americana, causada pelo protozoario Leishmania chagasi. Entretanto, tem-se acumulado evidências que sugerem a existência de um complexo e näo apenas uma espécie de L. longipalpis na natureza. Nosso trabalho teve como objetivo comparar, ao nível molecular, quatro populaçöes de L. longipalpis de referência, utilizando especimens criados em laboratório, provenientes de regiöes geograficamente distintas, através de RAPD-PCR (reaçäo de polimerase em cadeia com amplificaçäo por iniciadores ao acaso). Para isso, o DNA genomico de grupos de flebotomineos foi amplificado com iniciadores decamericos unicos com sequencia de nucleotideos arbitraria, na tentativa de se detectar sitios polimorficos...