First Report of Lutzomyia edwardsi and Lutzomyia gasparviannai Infected by Nematodes in a Rio de Janeiro Cave

Authors: Alves JRC*, Menezes RC, Vilela ML and SantosMallet JR

DOI: 10.23880/izab-16000361

Volume 5, Issue 2

Abstract

In 1984, a case of a wild rodent (Proechimys iheringi) infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) forattinii was reported. Lutzomyia gasparviannai is considered the vector of this etiological agent. In 2001, infection of the species Lutzomyia edwardsi by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis was described, suggesting the involvement of L. edwardsi in the transmission cycle of cutaneous leishmaniasis. In 2002, in the Lapinha cave, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, specimens of Lutzomyia longipalpis infected by nematodes were captured, providing motivation for studies on the biological control of phlebotominae. Thus, the aim of this study was to collect data from phlebotominae species in Sumidouro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Specimens were captured in a cave and the surrounding Atlantic Forest using Center of Disease Control traps, twice a month, overnight from 18h to 6h. The collection periods were from June 2009 to May 2010 and from March 2015 to February 2016. The phlebotominae were mounted on slides and covered with coverslips at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute. A female L. edwardsi specimen infected with nematodes, captured in 2009, and a female Lutzomyia gasparviannai specimen infected with Wuchereria bancrofti, captured in 2015, were among the collected specimens. Phlebotominae and nematodes were identified by morphological analysis, using an optical microscope. The nematode species W. bancrofti was identified by the curator of the Helminth Collection of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, where it was deposited along with the L. gasparviannai specimen. Exemplars of L. gasparviannai were deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute. The slide containing L. edwardsi and the nematodes was deposited in the Entomological Biodiversity Laboratory. This is the first report of W. bancrofti nematodes in these species, in a cave, and in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Thirteen species of phlebotominae were collected. L. gasparviannai was the most frequent, followed by L. edwardsi. The predominance of these two species, considered vectors of the etiological agents of leishmaniasis, and their nematode infections suggest that studies on the biological control of nematodes should be conducted and that cases of filariasis in this region should be assessed.

Keywords: Cave; Phlebotominae; Nematodes; Sumidouro

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