CHARACTERIZATION OF PHLEBOTOMIC FAUNA IN MUNICIPALITY OF BARBALHA, CEARÁ, BRAZIL, POSSIBLY INVOLVED IN TRANSMISSION VECTOR OF TEGUMENTARY LEISHMANIASIS AMERICANA – LTA
Sandflies; American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL); Vector.
Leishmaniasis are vector diseases that have a major impact on the public health scenario,
being present in more than 98 countries and responsible for the exposure of approximately
350 million people. Vectors play an important role in the biological cycle of the disease.
Given the importance of this endemic, particularly the cutaneous form, the entomological
aspects of the sandflies that transmit American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) and the
etiological agent were studied in the municipality of Barbalha – CE. During the period of
January and December 2022, samples were collected from lesions of patients treated at
the Medical Specialties Outpatient Clinic of the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal
University of Cariri and systematic collections of sandflies were carried out in the homes
and surroundings of these patients, evaluating and classifying the species of vector
insects, complemented by molecular analyzes directed to the genus Leishmania spp.. The
capture of sandflies was carried out using CDC (Centers for Disease Control) light traps,
installed in the intra-domestic and non-domestic homes of patients diagnosed with ACL.
The collected vectors were screened and subsequently classified according to sex and
species. A total of 1091 sandflies were collected, 510 (46.7%) males and 581 (53.3%)
females, with 11 species classified as the genus Lutzomyia spp., broken down as follows:
L. longipalpis (15%), L. sallesi (0.7 %), L. lenti (6.8 %), L. sordellii (0.3 %), L. intermedia
(39.1 %), L. quinquefer (1.4%), L. goiana (1.9 %), L. whitmani (30.5%), L. evandroi
(0.3%), L. migonei (1.0%) and L. walqueri (3%). The data obtained allow us to conclude
that the phlebotomy fauna in Barbalha is diverse and differs in some patterns from data
from other regions of the Ceará state and that a complementary study to characterize the
species(s) involved in transmission of ACL will complement the present essay.