In Argentina, 58.2% out of the 8126 Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) incident cases accumulated from 1954 to 2006 were reported in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy. The aim of this study was to develop an exploratory risk map and a potential distribution map of the vector, in order to offer recommendations for CL prevention. A total of 12 079 Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) belonging to the species Lutzomyia neivai (Pinto), Lu. migonei (França), Lu. cortelezzii (Brèthes), Lu. shannoni (Dyar), Lu. quinquefer (Dyar) and Brumptomyia spp. (França & Parrot) were captured. Potential distribution models were created for two species, Lu. neivai (incriminated vector of Leishmania braziliensis) and Lu. migonei, associated with domestic animals in Argentina and that in turn could be involved as a link between zoonotic transmission cycles and anthropozoonotic. The Maximum Entropy Modeling System (MaxEnt) was used. The Jackknife test was performed, and the 'rainfall of the driest month' was the variable that best generalized the models. Accuracy was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) and validated by the Cohen's kappa index. This approximation provides a new analytical resource of high potential for the prevention of the disease, in order to allocate resources properly and to develop the most suitable strategies for action.
American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) has two main scenarios of transmission as follows: scattered cases in rural areas and urban outbreaks. Urban AVL is in active dispersion from the northeastern border of Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil to the South. The presence of Lutzomyia longipalpis was initially reported in urban environments in the northwestern border of the country. The presence of Lu. longipalpis, environmental variables associated with its distribution, and its genetic diversity were assessed in Salvador Mazza, Argentina, on the border with Bolivia. The genetic analysis showed high haplotype diversity, low nucleotide diversity, and low nucleotide polymorphism index. We discuss the hypothesis of an expanding urban population with introgressive hybridisation of older haplogroups found in their path in natural forest or rural environments, acquiring a new adaptability to urban environments, and the possibility of changes in vector capacity.
A new species of phlebotomine sandfly is described and illustrated using male and female specimens collected in the provinces of Jujuy and Tucumán, Argentina. Both male and female morphological characters allow the inclusion of the new species within the Pintomyia genus, Pifanomyia subgenus, serrana series (Diptera: Psychodidae). The species was denominated as Pintomyia salomoni n. sp., and is closely related to Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) torresi and Pintomyia (Piffanomyia) boliviana.
Within the Ceratopogonidae family, many genera transmit numerous diseases to humans and animals, while others are important pollinators of tropical crops. In the Yungas ecoregion of Argentina, previous systematic and ecological research on Ceratopogonidae focused on Culicoides, since they are the main transmitters of mansonelliasis in northwestern Argentina; however, few studies included the genera Forcipomyia, Dasyhelea, Atrichopogon, Alluaudomyia, Echinohelea, and Bezzia. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the presence and abundance of Ceratopogonidae in this region, their association with meteorological variables, and their variation in areas disturbed by human activity. Monthly collection of specimens was performed from July 2008 to July 2009 using CDC miniature light traps deployed for two consecutive days. A total of 360 specimens were collected, being the most abundant Dasyhelea genus (48.06%) followed by Forcipomyia (26.94%) and Atrichopogon (13.61%). Bivariate analyses showed significant differences in the abundance of the genera at different sampling sites and climatic conditions, with the summer season and El Corralito site showing the greatest abundance of specimens. Accumulated rainfall was the variable that related the most to the abundance of Culicoides (10.56%), while temperature was the most closely related variable to the abundance of Forcipomyia, Dasyhelea, and Atrichopogon.
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