Short report
Natural infection of the sand fly Phlebotomus kazeruni by Trypanosoma species in Pakistan
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* Corresponding author: Hirotomo Kato katoh@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
1 Department of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan
2 Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara-cho, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan
3 Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan
4 Department of Dermatology, Chandka Medical College, Doctors Colony, Bunglow No 14, VIP Road, Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan
5 Incharge Leprosy Centre, Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan
6 Department of Parasitology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Oko-cho Kohasu, Nankoku-shi, Kochi 783-8505, Japan
Parasites & Vectors 2010, 3:10 doi:10.1186/1756-3305-3-10
Published: 25 February 2010Abstract
The natural infection of phlebotomine sand flies by Leishmania parasites was surveyed in a desert area of Pakistan where cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic. Out of 220 female sand flies dissected, one sand fly, Phlebotomus kazeruni, was positive for flagellates in the hindgut. Analyses of cytochrome b (cyt b), glycosomal glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) and small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene sequences identified the parasite as a Trypanosoma species of probably a reptile or amphibian. This is the first report of phlebotomine sand flies naturally infected with a Trypanosoma species in Pakistan. The possible infection of sand flies with Trypanosoma species should be taken into consideration in epidemiological studies of vector species in areas where leishmaniasis is endemic.