An integrative approach to identify sand fly vectors of leishmaniasis in Ethiopia by morphological and molecular techniques.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ethiopia is affected by human leishmaniasis caused by several Leishmania species and transmitted by a variety of sand fly vectors of the genus Phlebotomus. The sand fly fauna in Ethiopia is highly diverse and some species are closely related and similar in morphology, resulting in difficulties with species identification that requires deployment of molecular techniques. DNA barcoding entails high costs, requires time and lacks reference sequences for many Ethiopian species. Yet, proper species identification is pivotal for epidemiological surveillance as species differ in their actual involvement in transmission cycles. Recently, protein profiling using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry has been introduced as a promising technique for sand fly identification.

Methods

In

SUBMITTER: Pareyn M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7672994 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature