Abstract
BackgroundSome Lutzomyia species are the vectors of human leishmaniasis in the Americas. Visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis are both endemic in the Pacific region of Honduras, but the non-ulcerative form is the more frequent clinical manifestation in this region, where Lutzomyia longipalpis is the most abundant and the only incriminated vector. Taxonomic identification and distribution studies of sand flies are important to understand the epidemiology and to control these neglected tropical diseases.ResultsHere, we identified more than 13,000 Lutzomyia specimens captured in Isla del Tigre, Honduras, through a classical morphological approach. The two most common species were Lutzomyia evansi and Lu. longipalpis, and this is the first report of three Lutzomyia species on this island. The blood meal source was successfully identified for five sand fly species. A barcode analysis using the cox1 mitochondrial marker proved to be effective in discriminating between species and seems to be a valuable tool for future epidemiological studies including a wider geographical area.ConclusionThis study updates the diversity and blood meal sources of Lutzomyia species in an island endemic for non-ulcerative cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Pacific region of Honduras, and determines the effectiveness of the barcoding approach to discriminate species, as a complementary tool to classical morphology.
Highlights
IntroductionVisceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis are both endemic in the Pacific region of Honduras, but the non-ulcerative form is the more frequent clinical manifestation in this region, where Lutzomyia longipalpis is the most abundant and the only incriminated vector
Some Lutzomyia species are the vectors of human leishmaniasis in the Americas
This is the first report of three Lutzomyia species in Isla del Tigre (Lu. evansi, Lu. cayennensis and Lu. panamensis)
Summary
Visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis are both endemic in the Pacific region of Honduras, but the non-ulcerative form is the more frequent clinical manifestation in this region, where Lutzomyia longipalpis is the most abundant and the only incriminated vector. Leishmaniasis is a complex of human and zoonotic diseases caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania. According to the National Surveillance Laboratory and the Panamerican Health Organization Office in Honduras, the number of human infections caused by Leishmania parasites in Honduras during 2015 was 2054, mostly as cutaneous presentations [5] (Table 1). In Honduras there are four known manifestations of human leishmaniasis, and they are classified according to clinical signs, geographical distribution, parasite species, and vector species in each area. The ulcerative disease contributed to 50.6% of total national cases in 2015, while the non-ulcerative cutaneous
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