Abundance and Monthly Frequency of Phlebotomine Sand Flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) in Some Municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract. The present study had the objective of estimating the abundance and monthly frequency of vector phlebotomines for American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in the municipalities of Saquarema, Rio Bonito, Piraí and Rio Janeiro, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Seven sites located in these municipalities were monitored over a 10 to 12-month period. Lutzomyia migonei (França) Lutzomyia (Pintomyia) fischeri (Pinto) and Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) intermedia (Lutz & Neiva) the vectors for ACL, were recorded in all four of these municipalities. In this study, it was noteworthy that Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva) the vector of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was registered. In addition to these vectors, three other phlebotomine species, including Lutzomyia edwardsi (Mangabeira), Lutzomyia sallesi (Galvão & Coutinho) and Lutzomyia firmatoi (Barreto, Martins & Pellegrino) were captured in peridomestic environments at the seven monitoring sites (MS) over a 1476-hour period. A total of 23,187 specimens were captured leishmaniasis vector species accounted for 99.6% of the specimens captured. Lutzomyia (N.) intermedia presented the highest abundance (SISA = 1.0) and was recorded at all monitoring sites, with the highest mean Williams values. Lutzomyia migonei was the second most abundant and was found at all sites except MS 6 (SISA = 0.66). Lutzomyia (L.) longipalpis, Lutzomyia sallesi, Lutzomyia firmatoi and Lutzomyia (P.) fischeri were occasionally observed at the MS . These studies point to the need for adoption of policies involving actions of health education, associated with the notion of environmental management and the basics concepts of the disease, as element of success of an integrated program of entomological surveillance and control of American cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Assessing geographic and climatic variables to predict the potential distribution of the visceral leishmaniasis vector Lutzomyia longipalpis in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil

“…According to our prediction, the coastal region of ES is an unlikely region for the occurrence of L. longipalpis, as observed in BA, where the vector was observed in Caatinga [37]. However, in RJ, where climatic and geographical conditions were similar to those of ES, this insect has been found in 17 municipalities thus far, including those near coastal areas where the precipitation is higher [45][46][47][48][49].…”