First description of Migonemyia migonei (Franc¸ a) and Nyssomyiawhitmani (Antunes & Coutinho) (Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)natural infected by Leishmania infantum in ArgentinaSofía

MOYA SL; GIULIANI MG; MANTECA ACOSTA M; SALOMÓN OD; LIOTTA DJ

ACTA TROPICA

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 152 p. 181 - 184

0001-706X

tLeishmania infantum is the etiological agent of the Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) disease in America, withLutzomyia longipalpis phlebotomine sandflies as its proven vectors in Argentina, and infected dogs asits main urban reservoir. In Puerto Iguazú City (Misiones province, Argentina), human and canine casesof VL were recorded. Additionally, in the rural area known as ?2000 Hectáreas?, less than 10 km awayfrom the city, several human cases of Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (TL) were registered determining anendemic area with Leishmania braziliensis as the etiological agent. Because of this, several phlebotominecaptures were done in this site showing that Nyssomyia whitmani is the most abundant sandfly followedby Migonemyia migonei. In this study, three of the sandflies captured were found infected whit L. infantumparasites, detected by PCR and sequencing. Two of them were N. whitmani and the other one was a M.migonei specimen, being this the first report of L. infantum natural infection for Argentina in these sandflyspecies. N. whitmani is the main vector of L. braziliensis in this area, and M. migonei has been suggested as aputative vector in other locations where human and canine cases of VL where reported with L. longipalpisapparently absent. In this context, we consider necessary further studies that could define the role of M.migonei and N. whitmani as specific or permissive vectors of L. infantum, their vectorial competence andcapacity, and their actual role in the transmission of both Tegumentary and Visceral Leishmaniasis in thestudy area.