Abstract. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic in Salta, the northwestern province of Argentina. We describe an outbreak involving five recreational hunters whose exposure was limited to several hours in a residual patch of primary forest. All patients presented with typical cutaneous lesions after a mean incubation period of 59 days (range 15-78), and one developed simultaneous mucosal involvement. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of lesions confirmed Leishmania (V.) braziliensis as the etiologic agent in three cases. All patients were cured with anti-Leishmania treatment. Entomologic surveys in the transmission area revealed a predominance of Lutzomyia neivai. This outbreak report confirms a microfocal transmission pattern of tegumentary leishmaniasis in the Americas and based on a well-determined exposure, allows the determination of incubation times for leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania braziliensis.
The sand fly fauna in Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentina, a locality where cutaneous leishmaniasis cases occur, was surveyed with zones of higher abundance of sand flies correlated to vegetation cover estimated through normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Sand flies were collected with 10 CDC traps during six nights, from December 2009 to January 2010. A map was built of expected sand flies abundance in which levels of NDVI were categorized. In total, 1,392 Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) specimens were collected, comprised of the following species: Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto 1926), Migonemyia migonei (França 1920), species of the cortelezzii complex (Brèthes 1923), Evandromyia sallesi (Galvão & Coutinho 1940), and Psathyromyia shannoni (Dyar 1929). Positive correlations were found between the abundance of sand flies and the NDVI (P < 0.05) for buffer areas of <150 m radii from the trap location points, i.e., the sand fly abundance was greater where vegetation cover and density were greater. In this context, plant cover should be taken into account to prioritize surveillance and control areas within the program of sand flies control in northern Argentina.
Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) is a mosquito broadly found in tropical and temperate areas of the world. It is the main vector of dengue, chikungunya, zika and yellow fever (urban cycle), among other viruses. Aedes aegypti immatures develop in water holding containers, and frequently use artificial containers in urban settings as larval habitat. Ovitraps are artificial oviposition sites, a tool developed for mosquito population surveillance and to assess effectiveness of control measures. The preference for different oviposition substrate materials was assessed in the field, in two localities of Salta province, northern Argentina, where dengue outbreaks are frequent. The proportion of positive traps did not differ between oviposition substrates. However, higher numbers of eggs were laid in cotton fabric and velour paper, which were better than wooden paddle and blotting paper if the aim was to maximize the numbers of eggs collected. The results also evidenced that substrate preference for oviposition did not differ between geographic regions.
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