Molecular Detection of Leishmania in Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) Collected in the Caititu Indigenous Reserve of the Municipality of Lábrea, State of Amazonas, Brazil

ABSTRACT Phlebotominae sand flies are of medical importance because they are vectors of human pathogens, such as protozoa of the genus Leishmania Ross, etiological agent of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). In Labrea, a municipality in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, ACL is primarily associated with subsistence activities, such as collection and extraction of forest products, undertaken by both indigenous and nonindigenous people. Data on ACL in indigenous populations are scarce, such that there is little information on the identity of the etiologie agent(s), reservoir host(s) and insect vector(s). The aim of this work was to study the sand fly fauna collected during an 8-d surveillance of different habitats in the Indigenous Reserve Caititu, Labrea. In total, 1,267 sand flies were collected in different habitats for eight consecutive days, of which 819 (64.6%) were females and 448 (35.4%) males, from 10 genera and 32 species. The most abundant genera were Psychodopygus (34.3%), Trichophoromyia (22.9...