Phlebotomine fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae) in preserved and altered forested areas in the Municipality of Caroebe, Roraima State, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The phlebotomine fauna of an endemic area for American cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Municipality of Caroebe, southern Roraima State, Brazil, was surveyed in order to identify the species, assess the effects of the environmental changes on them, and indicate the probable human vectors of Leishmania. The sandflies were captured using CDC light traps installed at 1 m above ground level, in primary and altered forested areas between June 2009 and May 2010. A total of 1,574 specimens, distributed among 16 subgenera and/or groups of species and 54 species, were collected. The most frequent subgenera were Psychodopygus (46%), Oswaldoi (14.5%), Nyssomyia (12.9%), and Trychopygomyia (9.3%). This study showed a decrease in the diversity of the species and a change in the dominance relationship among the species in the altered forest. The risk of transmission of Leishmania to humans in both the primary and the altered forested areas was explained by the identification of several proven and suspected vector species. It was the first time L. bispinosa, L. pennyi, and L. yuilli pajoti were reported in Roraima State.