Studies on Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the Campus FIOCRUZ Mata Atlântica, Jacarepaguá, in the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction:The presence of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in the communities of the Campus FIOCRUZ Mata Atlântica (CFMA) in the City of Rio de Janeiro initiated the investigation of the Phlebotominae fauna in the Atlantic Forest to determine the occurrence of putative ACL vectors associated with the enzootic cycle. Methods: For 24 consecutive months, sand fl ies were captured inside the forest and in the border area near the communities. Results: The following sand fl y species were identifi ed: Brumptomyia brumpti, Brumptomyia cunhai, Brumptomyia nitzulescui, Lutzomyia edwardsi, Lutzomyia pelloni, and Lutzomyia quinquefer. Other identifi ed sand fl y vectors, such as Lutzomyia intermedia (the predominant species), Lutzomyia migonei, Lutzomyia whitmani, Lutzomyia fi scheri, and Lutzomyia hirsuta hirsuta, are associated with ACL transmission, and the vector for American visceral leishmaniases (AVL), Lutzomyia longipalpis, was also found. Conclusions: All sand fl y vectors were found in both studied environments except for Lutzomyia whitmani, which was only identifi ed in the forest. This study represents the fi rst identifi cation of Lutzomyia longipalpis in the CFMA, and the epidemiological implications are discussed.Keywords: American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. American Visceral Leishmaniasis. Rio de Janeiro City. Lutzomyia longipalpis. Lutzomyia intermedia.All the Brazilian states currently report human cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in a significant number of municipalities. ACL is transmitted from a complex parasitosis that involves multiple parasites, vectors and vertebrate hosts in restricted ecologic niches (1) .In the State of Rio de Janeiro, the occurrence of ACL has been recorded since the beginning of the previous century. In the last few decades, ACL has been observed in epidemic outbreaks in different municipalities, including the economically developed City of Rio de Janeiro. In the capital of the state, the disease is particularly prevalent in the western areas (2) of the region around the Pedra Branca massif in the neighborhood of Jacarepaguá where the Campus FIOCRUZ da Mata Atlântica (CFMA) is located (3) .Approximately 55% of the CFMA consists of the Pedra Branca State Park, a preserved environmental area of the Atlantic Forest. Six communities comprise the remaining 45% of the CFMA: Vianna do Castelo, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, Faixa Azul, Fincão, Sampaio Correa, and Caminho da Cachoeira. Cases of ACL from these communities historically represent approximately 8% of all human ACL cases recorded in Rio de Janeiro with evidence of intra-and peridomiciliary transmission (3) . The current study aims to improve the understanding of the eco-epidemiology of ACL at the CFMA by studying the Phlebotominae fauna, potential vectors in the forest environment associated with a zoonotic cycle, and the interface between ACL and the community of Caminho da Cachoeira. METHODS Study areaThe CFMA is located in part of the former hospice Colonia Juliano Moreira in the neighbor...

Trypanosomatid Richness in Wild and Synanthropic Small Mammals from a Biological Station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Infection by Leishmania sp. was observed in only one rodent species, but it is worth mentioning that there are human and canine cases of Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in the area [25][26][27], demonstrating the risk of occurrence of mixed infections by distinct trypanosomatid parasites (as observed in the local fauna), also in humans. All these factors may favor the establishment of zoonotic transmission involving some of these trypanosomatids, and highlight the importance of long term monitoring of zoonosis in wild and synanthropic reservoirs in the region.…”

“…In EFMA, infections by trypanosomatids were described in different hosts, such as bats, dogs, marsupials, and humans [17,25,27,29]. Remarkably, two new Trypanosoma species were described in this area-T. janseni and Trypanosoma caninum, [17,29]-showing that this area, although relatively small, may still present unknown trypanosomatid diversity.…”

“…For this reason, several initiatives were proposed, aiming to mitigate the effects of human occupation in this environment, such as the implementation of a biological station named Estação Biológica FIOCRUZ Mata Atlântica (EFMA: Fiocruz Atlantic Forest Biological Station). The EFMA is a part of the campus FIOCRUZ Mata Atlântica (CFMA-FIOCRUZ Atlantic Forest Campus), and is currently an environmentally protected area surrounded by low-income communities [25][26][27]. In this area, several scientific research projects have been developed, including the monitoring of fauna [26] and its parasites [17,28].…”

Multiscale environmental determinants of Leishmania vectors in the urban-rural context

“…whitmani related to the periurban, more relatively homogeneous landscape, by ZINB modeling only show association in the count component at the mesoscale with vegetation coverage and garbage collection and at the microscale with two sources of blood, poultry and humans. Therefore, [64][65][66][67], while in other regions the species is well adapted to urban environments. However, this species may actually represent a complex of cryptic species with different degrees of adaptation to anthropized environments [68,69].…”

Sand Fly Species Composition (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in the Municipality of Cantagalo , an Area With Sporadic Cases of Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Rio De Janeiro State, Brazil

“…Migonemyia migonei has been documented as a high potential vector species of ACL 16 . Pintomyia fischeri is associated to ACL transmission cycles in some Brazilian States 17 . Females belonging to the cortelezzii complex were found to be infected by L .…”