Evaluation of an Italian Phlebotomus perfiliewi (Larroussius) wild population as a permissive vector species for Leishmania tropica and L. major transmission.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Among pathogenic Leishmania species, L. major and L. tropica, occur mainly in North African and Middle Eastern countries, primarily transmitted by Phlebotomus papatasi and P. sergenti respectively. In Italy, P. perfiliewi is the second most abundant sand fly species involved in L. infantum transmission exhibiting opportunistic behaviour in rural and semi-urban settings. Experimental infections were conducted to assess the susceptibility of a wild Italian P. perfiliewi population to the development of L. tropica and L. major.

Methods

Experiments were performed with a wild P. perfiliewi population, collected in Magliano in Toscana (Tuscany, Italy). In separate experiments, females were artificially infected with a suspension of L. tropica or L. major (10⁶

SUBMITTER: Bernardini I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12797989 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature