Abstract

CORTES ALEMAN, Luis; PEREZ-DORIA, Alveiro  and  BEJARANO MARTINEZ, Eduar Elías. Anthropophilic sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) of public health importance in Los Montes de María, Colombia. Rev Cubana Med Trop [online]. 2009, vol.61, n.3, pp. 220-225. ISSN 1561-3054.

INTRODUCTION: cutaneous leishmaniasis is an endemic disease in Los Montes de María, Colombia, but the identity of the human-biting sand fly species in the region remained unknown until now. OBJECTIVE: to determine the Lutzomyia species that could be involved in the epidemiological cycle of cutaneous leishmaniasis in this area, considering their anthropophilic habits and epidemiological background. METHODS: sand flies were sampled using protected human baits, during the dry season in January and August, 2005, and the rainy period in April and November, 2005. Human bait collections were made from 18:00 to 24:00 hours by three men equipped with mouth aspirators and torches, inside a house where a cutaneous leishmaniasis case had occurred the last year. RESULTS: a total of 567 sand flies of the genus Lutzomyia were collected, comprising 504 females and 63 males. The composition of anthropophilic sand fly fauna was 97.5 % of Lu. evansi, 1.23 % of Lu. cayennensis cayennensis, 0.5 % of Lu. panamensis, 0.5 % of Lu. dubitans, and 0.2 % of Lu. gomezi. The L. evansi female's biting rate on humans was 1.5 in January, 1.4 in April, 0.85 in August, and 0.6 in November. Other Lutzomyia species exhibited human-biting rates equal to 0 in January and April; and equal to or lower than 0,024 in August and November. CONCLUSIONS: some of these sand fly species might play a role in the epidemiological cycle of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the region.

Keywords : Lutzomyia; cutaneous leishmaniasis; vectors; Colombia.

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