Sandflies transmit pathogens of leishmaniasis. The natural infection
of sandflies by Leishmania (Viannia) was assessed in
municipalities, in the state of Paraná, in Southern Brazil. Sandflies were
collected with Falcão and Shannon traps. After dissection in search of
flagellates in digestive tubes and identification of the species, female
sandflies were submitted to the Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
(multiplex PCR) for detection of the fragment of the kDNA of
Leishmania (Viannia) and the fragment from the
IVS6 cacophony gene region of the phlebotomine insects. The
analysis was performed in pools containing seven to 12 guts from females of the
same species. A total of 510 female sandflies were analyzed, including nine
Migonemyia migonei, 17 Pintomyia fischeri,
216 Nyssomyia neivai, and 268 Nyssomyia
whitmani. Although none of the females was found naturally infected
by flagellates through dissection, the fragment of DNA from Leishmania
(Viannia) was shown by multiplex PCR in one sample of
Ny. neivai (0.46%) and three samples of
Ny. whitmani (1.12%). It was concluded that
Ny. neivai and Ny. whitmani are
susceptible to Leishmania infection, and that multiplex PCR can
be used in epidemiological studies to detect the natural infection of the
sandfly vector, because of its sensitivity, specificity and feasibility.