Molecular detection of Leishmania parasites from whole bodies of sandflies collected in Nepal (original) (raw)

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in the southern part of the Terai region of Nepal. Natural infections of Phlebotomus species with Leishmania parasites in these endemic areas were analyzed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification-based assay. A total of 401 Phlebotomus argentipes and 202 P. papatasi female sandflies were captured in the Dhanusa district from 2004 to 2006 and analyzed_._ It was found that 6.7% of P. argentipes, but no P. papatasi, were positive for Leishmania parasites, suggesting that P. argentipes is a major vector in these areas. The infectivity of P. argentipes with Leishmania was consistent with the infection rates reported from other areas of the world. This is the first report of naturally infected Leishmania parasites in sandflies collected from Nepal.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. Shambhu Bahadur Shrestha, the entomology technician, for his help in collecting and identifying sandflies in the field. We also thank Dr. Richard Culleton for critically reading this manuscript. Kishor Pandey is supported by a scholarship from the Japanese Government Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (MONBUSHO). The present study was supported by the National Bio-Resource Project (NBRP) of MEXT, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Protozoology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
   Kishor Pandey, Hiroji Kanbara & Osamu Kaneko
2. Vector Borne Disease Research and Training Center, Hetauda, Nepal
   Shishir Pant
3. Department of Immunogenetics, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
   Mohammed Nasir Shuaibu
4. Janakpur Zonal Hospital, Janakpur, Nepal
   Arun Kumar Mallik
5. Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
   Basu Dev Pandey
6. Animal Research Center for Tropical Infections, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
   Tetsuo Yanagi

Authors

1. Kishor Pandey
2. Shishir Pant
3. Hiroji Kanbara
4. Mohammed Nasir Shuaibu
5. Arun Kumar Mallik
6. Basu Dev Pandey
7. Osamu Kaneko
8. Tetsuo Yanagi

Corresponding author

Correspondence toKishor Pandey.

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Pandey, K., Pant, S., Kanbara, H. et al. Molecular detection of Leishmania parasites from whole bodies of sandflies collected in Nepal.Parasitol Res 103, 293–297 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0967-7

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• Received: 18 February 2008
• Accepted: 14 March 2008
• Published: 16 April 2008
• Issue date: July 2008
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0967-7

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