Phlebotomines (Diptera: Psychodidae) from a Urban Park of Belém, Pará State, Northern Brazil and Potential Implications in the Transmission of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Abstract

In urban ecotourism parks, the life cycle of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) agents can remain established, where phlebotomines may comprise potential risks for visitors. The present study aimed to survey the phlebotomine fauna of a forest park 'Bosque Rodriques Alves-Jardim Botânico da Amazônia' (BRAJBA), in the urban area of Belém, Brazil. The park was monthly surveyed in 2018 using CDC light traps placed in ground and canopy strata. Leishmania spp. isolated from dissected females were characterized by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Fluctuations in specimen capture were correlated with rainfall. Nyssomyia antunesi (Coutinho, 1939) was predominant for all surveyed ecotopes and capture methods in both areas. Females of Ny. antunesi resting on tree bases were observed attempting to bite researchers during early morning. One Bichromomyia flaviscutellata (Mangabeira, 1942) and one Trichophoromyia brachipyga (Mangabeira, 1942) were found naturally infected by flagellates. Only the strain from Th. brachipyga was isolated and characterized as Leishmania (Viannia) lainsoni Silveira, Shaw, Braga and Ishikawa, 1987. Monthly fluctuations of the three most abundant species, Ny. antunesi, Trichophoromyia ubiquitalis (Mangabeira, 1942) and Th. brachypiga, had statistically significant negative correlations with rainfall. The present study provided further information to better understand ACL ecology in the Belém urban area, where the urban parks surveyed appeared to offer potential risk of contracting the disease, thus requiring environmental management. These observations highlighted the need for including Ny. antunesi, Bi. flaviscutellata, Th. ubiquitalis, and Th. brachypiga in the priority list for continuous entomological surveillance.