BACKGROUND The state of Rondônia (RO) is a hot spot for human cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Many sandfly species in RO are putative vectors of leishmaniasis. OBJECTIVES This study examines the diversity patterns and the presence of Leishmania DNA and blood meal sources of sandflies in RO. METHODS A sandfly survey was performed between 2016 and 2018 in 10 municipalities categorised into three different environment types: (i) Conservation Unit (CUN) - comprised of preserved ombrophilous forests; (ii) Forest Edge (FE) - small forest fragments; and (iii) Peridomicile (PE) - areas around dwellings. FINDINGS A total of 73 species were identified from 9,535 sandflies. The most abundant species were Psychodopygus davisi (1,741 individuals), Nyssomyia antunesi (1,397), Trichophoromyia auraensis (1,295) and Trichophoromyia ubiquitalis (1,043). Diversity was the highest in CUN, followed by the FE and PE environments. One pool of Ps. davisi tested positive for Leishmania braziliensis, reinforcing the possibility that Ps. davisi acts as a vector. The cytochrome b (cytb) sequences were used to identify three blood meal sources: Bos taurus, Homo sapiens and Tamandua tetradactyla. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrated that sandflies can switch between blood meal sources in differing environments. This study enhances the knowledge of the vector life cycle in RO and provides information relevant to leishmaniasis surveillance.

This study shows that Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) can be used as supporting tools for the evaluation of the quality of antiparasitics. In addition, an analytical methodology was developed and validated to quantify simultaneously thiabendazole (TB), febantel (FB), toltrazuril (TZ), and fluazuron (FZ) in bulk and in their veterinary pharmaceutical formulations using reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). In order to investigate stability, pharmaceuticals were submitted to degradation processes under different conditions, such as recommended by the International Conference on Harmonization. The chromatographic conditions were optimized and the validation parameters, such as selectivity, linearity, detection limit, quantification limit, precision, accuracy, and robustness showed results within acceptable standards. All analytes were stable in the stability assays in acid and basic media and thermal conditions, except in the oxidation process, which presented two degradation peaks. Physicochemical characterization by TGA, FTIR, and SEM of raw materials of TB, FB, TZ, and FZ provided information about the authenticity of the analytes, proving the wide applicability of the instrumental techniques. The RP-HPLC proposed method was found to be accurate, precise, and reproducible and can in addition be used for routine quality control analysis.