Blood feeding patterns of Nyssomyia intermedia and Nyssomyia neivai (Diptera, Psychodidae) in a cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic area of the Ribeira Valley, State of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction:The aim of this study was to identify the blood feeding sources of Nyssomyia intermedia (Ny. intermedia) and Nyssomyia neivai (Ny. neivai), which are Leishmania vectors and the predominant sandfl y species in the Ribeira Valley, State of São Paulo, Brazil, an endemic area for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Methods: Specimens were captured monthly between February 2001 and December 2003 on a smallholding and a small farm situated in the Serra district in the Iporanga municipality. The blood meals of 988 engorged females were tested using the avidin-biotin immunoenzymatic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Seven blood meal sources were investigated: human, dog, chicken, bovine, pig, horse and rat. Results: The results showed that among the females that fed on one or more blood sources, the respective percentages for Ny. intermedia and Ny. neivai, respectively, were as follows: human (23% and 36.8%), pig (47.4% and 26.4%), chicken (25.7% and 36.8%) and dog (3.9% and 0%), and the differences in the blood sources between the two species were statistically signifi cant (p = 0.043). Conclusions: Both species had predominant reactivity for one or two blood sources, and few showed reactivity indicating three or four sources. Many different combinations were observed among the females that showed reactivity for more than one source, which indicated their opportunistic habits and eclecticism regarding anthropic environmental conditions.

Leishmania in synanthropic rodents (Rattus rattus): new evidence for the urbanization of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis

“…In other words, the presence of animal species different from rats was a protection factor against leishmaniosis in rats (OR= 0.01273 to 0.8341). A study on Nyssomyia neivai species broadly found in Paraná State (MEMBRIVE et al, 2004;DIAS-SVERSUTTI et al, 2007;SILVA et al, 2008;CERINO et al, 2009;CRUZ et al, 2013;MELO et al, 2013), performed in Ribeira Valley São Paulo State, examined 988 engorged females, and no rat blood was detected in the phlebotomines (MARASSÁ et al, 2013). According to Dias-Sversutti et al (2007), N. neivai and N. whitmani are opportunists and probably adjust their feeding habits based on the availability of hosts.…”

Fast multiplex real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection of dog and human blood and Leishmania parasites in sand flies

“…Therefore, investigations of the blood meals of various species of sand flies are crucial towards a better assessment of the risk of Leishmania transmission in areas where leishmaniasis are endemic. Several methodologies to identify blood meal in sand flies have been used, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), mass spectrometry, precipitin test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [6][7][8][9][10][11]. More recently, quantitative real-time PCR [12,13] and PCR followed by amplicon sequencing [14] demonstrated promising results, with high-level sensitivity.…”

Identification of phlebotomine sand fly blood meals by real-time PCR

“…Different methods have been traditionally applied to study the blood-feeding behaviour of sand flies, including the precipitin test [ 4 , 7 , 11 - 13 ] and ELISA [ 14 - 16 ]. However, these methods present some technical limitations (e.g., the possibility of cross-reactivity between species, the need for producing specific antibodies to several species, and the inability to discover unpredicted hosts) ([ 10 ]; and references cited therein).…”