First report on the presence of morphospecies A and B of Phlebotomus argentipes sensu lato (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Sri Lanka – implications for leishmaniasis transmission

Abstract

Phlebotomus argentipes Annandale and Brunetti (Diptera : Psychodidae) is the major Indian vector of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by Leishmania donovani. However, whilst the geographic range of P. argentipes extends from Iran and Afghanistan in the west to Malaysia and Indonesia in the southeast1, VL is confined to northeastern and southern India, and neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh2,3. Despite being located 32 km from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where VL is endemic, autochthonous cases of leishmaniasis were not reported in Sri Lanka until 1992. Prior to this leishmaniasis was detected only in persons who had contracted the disease while working in the middle east4. However, since 1992 the incidence has been rising steadily, with 65 cases documented by Siriwardena et al5 in 2003. The parasite was identified in several Sri Lankan patients as L. donovani zymodeme MON-376. However, this typically causes VL in India, in Sri Lanka the clinical manifestations are characteristic of cutaneous leishmaniasis.