Ecology and seasonality of sandflies and potential reservoirs of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ochollo, a hotspot in southern Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ochollo is a village in southern Ethiopia burdened with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), where Phlebotomus pedifer is the only vector for Leishmania aethiopica and hyraxes are confirmed reservoir hosts. A detailed description of the different players of transmission, and the ecology and seasonality of the vector needs to be established in order to accomplish efficient control programs.

Methods and findings

Between March 2017 and February 2018, a monthly sandfly collection was carried out in different habitats and records of temperature and humidity were taken. Rodents and hyraxes were trapped in the dry and wet season. All samples were screened for Leishmania kinetoplast DNA (kDNA). Positive samples were further processed for determination of the Leishmania species a

SUBMITTER: Pareyn M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6715250 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature