Abstract
Phlebotomine sandflies of the genus Sergentomyia are widely distributed throughout the Old World. It has been suggested that Sergentomyia spp are involved in the transmission of Leishmania in India and Africa, whereas Phlebotomus spp are thought to be the sole vectors of Leishmania in the Old World. In this study, Leishmania major DNA was detected in one Sergentomyia minuta specimen that was collected in the southern region of Portugal. This study challenges the dogma that Leishmania is exclusively transmitted by species of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Insect Vectors / parasitology*
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Leishmania major / isolation & purification*
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Portugal
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Psychodidae / parasitology*
Grants and funding
Financial support: EU/FEDER (PTDC/CVT/112371/2009) (FCT/MMCTES), EU (FP7-261504 EDENext) catalogued by the EDENext Steering Committee as EDENext093. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. CM (SFRH/BPD/44082/2008) and SC (SFRH/BPD/44450/2008) are FCT/MCTES fellows