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. 2013 Aug 31;7(2):122-31.
eCollection 2013.

Molecular characterization of leishmania infection from naturally infected sand flies caught in a focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis (eastern iran)

Mohammad Akhoundi  1 , Ahmad Baghaei  2 , Jérôme Depaquit  3 , Parviz Parvizi  2
Affiliations

Molecular characterization of leishmania infection from naturally infected sand flies caught in a focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis (eastern iran)

Mohammad Akhoundi et al. J Arthropod Borne Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania major is a serious and increasing problem affecting many rural areas of 17 out of 31 provinces in Iran. Little is known about sand fly fauna and leishmaniases in Eastern Iran and no study has been carried out in Sarbisheh County. The aim of this study was to determine sand flies composition and probable Leishmania infection to find the probable vectors of leishmaniasis in Sarbisheh district.

Methods: Sand flies were caught using both sticky papers and CDC light traps in August 2010. They were identified morphologically and analyzed for Leishmania infection by amplification of ITS-rDNA.

Results: Totally, 842 specimens were caught and 8 species recorded. They belonged to the genera Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia: P. (Phlebotomus) papatasi, P. (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti, P. (Pa.) caucasicus, P. (Pa.) mongolensis, P. (Pa.) jacusieli, S. (Sergentomyia) dentata, S. (Se.) sintoni and S. (Sintonius) clydei. All collected females were processed for Leishmania DNA detection by PCR amplifying of Internal Transcribed Spacer1 (partial sequence), 5.8S (complete sequence) and ITS2 (partial sequence) fragments. Thirteen females were positive for Leishmania DNA. The sequencing of the 430 bp amplicons indicated that 9 P. papatasi and 3 females belonging to the Caucasicus group carried L. major DNA whereas one P. sergenti carried L. tropica DNA.

Conclusion: Phlebotomus papatasi and P. sergenti are, like in several places, the probable vectors of cutaneous leishmaniases in this emerging or unknown focus of cutaneous leishmaniases.

Keywords: ITS-ribosomal DNA; Iranian Sand fly; Leishmania major; Leishmania tropica.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Villages prospected in Sarbisheh County (Eastern Iran)
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Phlebotomus jacusieli caught in Sarbisheh. Female pharynx (A) and spermathecae (B), male coxite and style (internal view) (C)
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Gel electrophoresis profile of the standard PCR based amplification products. The bands correspond to molecular weight marker (Lane1), control negative (Lane 2), reference strains of L. major (Lane 3) and L. tropica (Lane 4), P. papatasi (Bir-733: Lanes 5 and Bir-803: Lane 6), caucasicus group (Bir-211: Lane 7, Bir-341: Lane 8 and Bir-624: Lane 9) and P. sergenti (Bir-797: Lane 10)
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