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Eleanor R. Cross Naval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, MD 20889-5607

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Dear Sir:

We appreciate the comments from Drs. Jacobson and Schlien and apologize for the incorrect citation. They indicate a mean temperature of 25°C for the three summer months in Jerusalem but did not indicate if this average was for more than a one-year period. The temperature data we used from the International Station Meteorological Climate Summary, version 2.0, for the years 1982–1987, indicated a mean temperature of 21.8°C for the three summer months of June, July and August (20.6°C, 22.2°C and 22.6°C, respectively). Version 3.0 of this summary, covering the years 1982–1993, indicated the mean temperature had increase slightly to 22.6°C (21.1°C, 23.3°C and 23.3°C, respectively). These mean temperatures are still below 25°C, which may be below the critical temperature required for the sandfly to complete two development cycles in Jerusalem.

We recognize the importance of the rodent reservoirs in the disease cycle and their lack of presence in Jerusalem as one of the reasons for the absence of leishmaniasis in the city.

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