Short Report: Leishmania DNA in Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia Species during a Kala-Azar Epidemic

Abstract

The presence of Leishmania donovani DNA in sand flies caught in Indian kala-azar patients' dwellings during the epidemic of 1990–1992 was studied using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Amplification of miniexon-derived RNA genes and gpG3 mRNA was achieved in single Phlebotomus argentipes, P. papatasi, and Sergentomyia babu flies. The data suggest the possible involvement of multiple sandfly species in kala-azar transmission.