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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 72(2), 2005, pp. 138-141
Copyright © 2005 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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SHORT REPORT: SURVEILLANCE OF LEISHMANIA SP. AMONG SAND FLIES IN SICILY (ITALY) USING A FLUOROGENIC REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

EDUARDO GÓMEZ-SALADÍN, CARL W. DOUD, AND MICHELE MAROLI
United States Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit 7, Sicily, Italy; Section of Vector-Borne Diseases and International Health, Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy

 

ABSTRACT

Leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum is a complex zoonotic disease, resulting in cutaneous and visceral manifestations in both dogs and humans. The present study involved a published Taqman fluorogenic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for surveillance of Leishmania sp. parasites among sand flies trapped in two provinces in Sicily, Catania and Agrigento, during the summer and fall of 2003. Only male specimens were identified to species level, while females were used to evaluate Leishmania sp. infection by PCR testing. The two most prevalent sand fly species found were Phlebotomus perfiliewi and P. perniciosus. Of the female sand flies tested, 2.9% were positive for Leishmania sp. DNA by the PCR.

Received June 7, 2004. Accepted for publication August 1, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We thank Dr. Marina Gramiccia for providing reference L. infantum promastigotes and Colonel Glenn Wortmann for providing L. braziliensis DNA. We also thank Drs. Vera D’Urso, Antonio Cascio, and Rosario Russo for helpful epidemiologic information. Several U.S. Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit 7 staff members donated their time to set up traps in their homes and neighborhoods.

Financial support: This work was supported by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Author’s addresses: Eduardo Gómez-Saladín and Carl W. Doud. U.S. Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit 7, PSC 812, Box 3540, FPO AE 09627–3540, Telephone: 39–095–86–9251 Fax: 39–095–86–9252, E-mails: egomez{at}nepmu7.sicily.navy.mil and cdoud{at}nepmu7.sicily.navy.mil. Michele Maroli, Section of Vector-Borne Diseases and International Health, Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy, Telephone: 39–06–4990–2302, Fax: 39–06–4938–7065, email: maroli{at}iss.it.

Reprint requests: Eduardo Gómez-Saladín, PSC 812, Box 3540, FPO AE 09627–3540.






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Copyright © 2005 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.