Phlebotominae fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae) of the Serra do Tepequém, Municipality of Amajari, Roraima State, Brazil

Abstract

Our study aimed to investigate the presence of vectors of Leishmania and to study the transmission risks of leishmaniasis to humans. Thus, a survey forthe occurrence of sand flies in an endemic area for American cutaneous leishmaniasis was conducted in Serra do Tepequém, City of Amajari, Roraima State, Brazil. The sand flies were captured from August 2008 to May 2009 using four CDC light traps installed 1 m above the ground levei and inside the primary forest. A total of 2,230 specimens were captured. They were distributed into 11 subgenera, four groups of species and 38 species. Lutzomyia eurypyga was the most numerous species, accounting for 72% of ali captured sand flies. The occurrence of L. anduzei, L. ayrozai, L. antunesi, L. davis, L. flaviscutellata, L. hirsuta, L. paraensis, L. squamiventris squamiventris, L. ubiquitalis and L. umbratilis, either proven orsuspected vectors of leishmania in the Amazon Region, indicates risk of transmission of the disease to humans in the study area. For the first time, the species L. georgii and L. longipennis were found in Roraima State.