Leishmaniose

796

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 105(6): 796-799, September 2010

Detection of Leishmania infantum in naturally infected
Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) and
Canis familiaris in Misiones, Argentina: the first report of a PCR-RFLP and sequencing-based confirmation assay
Soraya Alejandra Acardi1/+, Domingo Javier Liotta1, María Soledad Santini2,
Carlo Mariano Romagosa3, Oscar Daniel Salomón2
Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones,
Posadas, Misiones, Argentina 2Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigación en Endemo-epidemias,
Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud, Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina
3
Instituto Municipal de Sanidad Animal, Secretaria de Calidad de Vida, Posadas, Misiones, Argentina

1

In this study, a genotypification of Leishmania was performed using polimerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorfism (PCR-RFLP) and sequencing techniques to identify species of Leishmania parasites in phlebotomine sand flies and dogs naturally infected. Between January-February of 2009, CDC light traps were used to collect insect samples from 13 capture sites in the municipality of Posadas, which is located in the province of Misiones of Argentina. Sand flies identified as Lutzomyia longipalpis were grouped into 28 separate pools for molecular biological analysis. Canine samples were taken from lymph node aspirates of two symptomatic stray animals that had been positively diagnosed with canine visceral leishmaniasis. One vector pool of 10 sand flies (1 out of the 28 pools tested) and both of the canine samples tested positively for Leishmania infantum by PCR and RFLP analysis. PCR products were confirmed by sequencing and showed a maximum identity with L. infantum. Given that infection was detected in one out of the 28 pools and that at least one