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An experimental study of the peridomestic distribution of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Rupert J. Quinnell  and
Christopher Dye
Rupert J. Quinnell
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Parasitology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Instituto Evandro Chagas, Belém, Brazil
Christopher Dye*
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Parasitology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Instituto Evandro Chagas, Belém, Brazil
*
Christopher Dye, Department of Medical Parasitology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
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Abstract

Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva), the vector of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL), is much more abundant in animal sheds than in houses on Marajó Island, Pará State, Brazil. This difference in abundance is known not to reflect host preference. We show here that it also cannot be explained in terms of variable trapping efficiency, or insecticide application, and we exclude animal sheds as important daytime resting sites. In experimental sheds, the number of L. longipalpis increased markedly with the openness of the walls, though artificially large aggregations of flies could be generated in closed houses by using caged flies and hosts as attractants. We conclude that L. longipalpis tend to congregate at sites outdoors, including animal sheds, because these are the places where leks can most easily form on abundant, stationary (sleeping) and accessible hosts. These results help to explain why the seroprevalence of Leishmania chagasi infection is generally much higher among dogs than humans. They also indicate that human exposure to sandfly bites varies with the quality of house construction.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , September 1994 , pp. 379 - 382
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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