RESUMO
A leishmaniose visceral no Brasil estava inicialmente associada a áreas rurais, mas devido às diversas alterações no ambiente como, desmatamentos, urbanização e intenso processo migratório, ocorreu a expansão das áreas endêmicas, levando à urbanização da doença, principalmente nas regiõesAs leishmanioses são doenças enzoóticas e zoonóticas causadas por protozoários parasitas, morfologicamente similares, do gênero Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), podendo acometer o homem 6 .A leishmaniose visceral (LV) vem se tornando um importante problema de Saúde Pública, devido à sua incidência e alta letalidade, não só nas Américas mas na Europa, África, Ásia e Oriente Médio 17 . Nas Américas, a LV ocorre desde o México até a Argentina, sendo que cerca de 90% dos casos humanos descritos são procedentes do Brasil 16 . A LV apresenta amplo espectro epidemiológico no mundo, ocorrendo em vastas áreas tropicais e subtropicais do globo, podendo apresentar-se como zoonose, antroponose ou antropozoonose, estas duas últimas, quando o homem atua como reservatório no ciclo de transmissão do parasito 21 .
SUMMARYDNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied in the investigation of the presence of Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) parasites in single phlebotomine sandflies. Three phlebotomine/parasite pairs were used: Lutzomyia longipalpis/Leishmania chagasi, Lutzomyia migonei/Leishmania amazonensis and Lutzomyia migonei/Leishmania braziliensis, all of them incriminated in the transmission of visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis. DNA extraction was performed with whole insects, with no need of previous digestive tract dissection or pooling specimens. The presence of either mouse blood in the digestive tract of the sandflies or the digestive tract itself did not interfere in the PCR. Infection by as few as 10 Leishmania sp. per individual were sufficient for DNA amplification with genus-specific primers. Using primers for L. braziliensis and L. mexicana complexes, respectively, it was possible to discriminate between L. braziliensis and L. amazonensis in experimentally infected vectors (L. migonei).
A study of the phlebotomine sand fly fauna was carried out in an endemic area of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in the municipality of Porteirinha, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Captures were performed with CDC light traps in 7 districts, 5 days per month, during 2 consecutive years (January 2000 to December 2001). A total of 3240 sand flies were captured and identified. Sixteen species were found, among which 15 belonged to the genus Lutzomyia and one to the genus Brumptomyia. Lutzomyia longipalpis, a proven vector of AVL, was the predominant species (71.85%) throughout the time period. The interference of climatic factors (temperature, humidity, and rainfall) over the populational dynamics of the sand flies was determined. Statistical analysis of the data showed a significant correlation among the number of phlebotomine sand flies collected, rainfall, and humidity, whereas the effect of temperature was negligible, in that particular region. The amount of collected phlebotomine, the number of human cases, and the prevalence of canine AVL in the districts of Porteirinha are discussed
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