Abstract
Human bartonellosis is found predominantly in Perú2, 6, 8, 12, 15, as well as in Ecuador3, 7, 10 and Colombia13, 15. In Peru, the disease is restricted to the valleys of the western-side and a few inter-andean and eastern-slopes of the andean valleys6, 15, 18 at altitudes between 1000 and 3200 masl. Most human cases are reported from the regions of Chavin, Nor Oriental del Marañon and Lima16. Lutzomyia verrucarum is presumed to be the only vector of human bartonellosis in the valleys of Peru1, 2, 8, 11, 17, 19/ Our research objetive was to detect the presence of Lu. verrucarum in various localities known to be endemic for human bartonellosis in three provinces of Region Nor Oriental del Marañon. Sandfly collections were made between 1987 and 1992 during four visits to bartonellosis-endemic provinces: San Ignacio (districts of San José de Lourdes: 1020-1260 m and La Coipa: 1200-1560 m), Jaén (districts of Santa Rosa: 1300-1680 m and Jaén: 1220-1680 m) and Utcubamba (districts of Lonya Grande: 1200 m and El Milagro: 1200-1540 m)
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
POSSIBLE ROLE OF LUTZOMYIA MARANONENSIS AND LUTZOMYIA ROBUSTA (DIPTERA: PSYCHODIDAE) AS VECTORS OF HUMAN BARTONELLOSIS IN THREE PROVINCES OF REGION NOR ORIENTAL DEL MARAÑON, PERU
Abraham G. CACERES ( 1 (1 ) División de Entomología. Instituto Nacional de Salud, Lima, Perú. ) , Eunice A.B. GALATI ( 2 (2 ) Departamento de Epidemiología. Faculdade de Saúde Pública. Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. ) , Francois LE PONT ( 3 (3 ) ORSTOM. Centre de BONDY, Bondy, France. ) & César VELASQUEZ ( 4 (4 ) Hospital Apoyo de Bagua. Sub Región de Salud I Jaén. Región Nor Oriental del Marañón, Perú. Correspondence to: Abraham G. Cáceres. División de Entomología. Instituto Nacional de Salud, Apartado Postal 451, Lima 100, Perú. )
CÁCERES, A.G.; GALATI, E.A.B.; LE PONT, F. & VELASQUEZ, C. Possible role of Lutzomyia maranonensis and Lutzomyia robusta (Diptera: Psychodidae) as vectors of human bartonellosis in three provinces of region Nor Oriental Del Marañon, Peru. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 39(1):000-000, 1997.
KEYWORDS: Bartonellosis; Lutzomyia maranonensis; Lutzomyia robusta; Perú.
Human bartonellosis is found predominantly in Perú2, 6, 8, 12, 15, as well as in Ecuador3, 7, 10 and Colombia13, 15.
In Peru, the disease is restricted to the valleys of the western-side and a few inter-andean and eastern-slopes of the andean valleys6, 15, 18 at altitudes between 1000 and 3200 masl. Most human cases are reported from the regions of Chavin, Nor Oriental del Marañon and Lima16.
Lutzomyia verrucarum is presumed to be the only vector of human bartonellosis in the valleys of Peru1, 2, 8, 11, 17, 19.
Our research objetive was to detect the presence of Lu. verrucarum in various localities known to be endemic for human bartonellosis in three provinces of Region Nor Oriental del Marañon. Sandfly collections were made between 1987 and 1992 during four visits to bartonellosis-endemic provinces: San Ignacio (districts of San José de Lourdes: 1020-1260 m and La Coipa: 1200-1560 m), Jaén (districts of Santa Rosa: 1300-1680 m and Jaén: 1220-1680 m) and Utcubamba (districts of Lonya Grande: 1200 m and El Milagro: 1200-1540 m).
We captured sandflies with intra-domiciliary CDC light traps, with peri-domiciliary Shannon traps, around houses using human bait, and in resting places with manual aspirators.
Captures were made in and around houses where cases of human bartonellosis had been recently reported. Sandfly species were identified taxonomically using available bibliography4.
A total of 2774 specimens were captured (1958 females and 816 males). Table shows the percentages and species of captured Lutzomyia.
Human bartonellosis has a seasonal transmission, with most cases reported in the months of January to June when rainfall is greatest5, 9, 14, 16. Captures were made during the rainy season in four periods. Surprisingly, very few specimens of Lu. verrucarum were caught. This observation suggests that Lu. verrucarum may not be primary vector of human bartonellosis in the three provinces studied. The great abundance of Lu. robusta and Lu. maranonensis in intradomiciliary areas in all three provinces implicates them as the most likely natural vectors of the disease.
Lutzomyia robusta was the major species found inside dwellings where cases of bartonellosis had been reported. Lu. maranonensis was caught most often using human bait.
As Bartonella bacilliformis, the causative organism of bartonellosis, has never been isolated from Lu. verrucarum, the evidence for it being considered the natural vector remains tenous1, 8, 11, 17, 19. In this study no attempts were made to detect B. bacilliformis but a very interesting approach would be look for the presence of this organism in the mid-intestine sandfly using a specific Polymerase Chain Reaction assay (PCR).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
To Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONCYTEC), Lima, Perú, who provided part of the financial sources for field work.
REFERENCES
1. BATTISTINI, T. La verrue peruvienne (sa transmission par le Phlebotome). Rev. sud-amer. Med. Chirurg., 2:719-724, 1931.
2. CACERES, A. Distribución geográfica de Lutzomyia verrucarum (Townsend, 1913) (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) vector de la bartonellosis humana. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 35:485-490, 1993.
3. CARVAJAL, H.L.; PAULSON, B.G.; ZEREGA, P.F. & LOAIZA, V.M. Bartonellosis humana en el Perú. Rev. ecuat. Hig., 31:37-47, 1978.
4. GALATI, B.E.A. Sistematica de Plhebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) das Americas. São Paulo, 1990. (Tese de Doutoramento Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo.)
5. GOMEZ, M. Epidemiología de la enfermedad de Carrión o verruga peruana en las provincias de Yauyos y Cañete, 1914. (Tesis de Bachiller). In: ARCE, J., ed. CONGRESSO MEDICO LATINO AMERICANO, 5., Lima, Sanmarti. 1914. Resumen, p. 103-138.
6. HERRER, A. Epidemiología de la verruga peruana. Lima, Gonzales-Mugaburu, 1990.
7. HERTIG, M. Cultivo de la Bartonella bacilliformis de un caso de verruga peruana en el Ecuador. Bol. Ofic. sanit. panamer., 19:756-758, 1940.
8. HERTIG, M. Phlebotomus and Carrions disease. Amer. J. trop. Med., 22 (suppl. 5):1-81, 1942.
9. MAGUIÑA, C. & PEREZ, E. La enfermedad de Carrión y la leishmaniasis andina en la región de Conchucos, distritos de Chavin, San Marcos y Huántar, provincia de Huari, departamento de Ancash. Diagnostico, 16:5-12, 1985.
10. MONTALVAN, J.A. Un foco de bartonellosis en el Ecuador. Bol. Ofic. sanit. panamer., 19:154, 1940.
11. NOGUCHI, H.; SHANNON, R.; TILDEN, E.B. & TYLER, J.R. Etiology of Oroya fever. XIV. The insect vectors of Carrions disease. J. exp. Med., 49:993-1008, 1929.
12. ODRIOZOLA, E. La maladie de Carrión ou la verruga peruvienne. Paris, Carré y Naud, 1898.
13. PATIÑO-CAMARGO, L. Un nuevo foco de bartonellosis en América. Bol. Ofic. sanit. panamer., 18:305-313, 1939.
14. PEREZ, N.V. La verruga peruana o "enfermedad de Carrión" en el departamento de Cajamarca. In: ARCE, J., ed. CONGRESSO MEDICO LATINO AMERICANO, 5., Lima. Sanmarti, 1914. Resumen. p. 157-190.
15. REBAGLIATI, R. Verruga peruana (enfermedad de Carrión). Lima, Imprenta Torres Aguirre, 1940.
16. SANCHEZ, P. Algunos aspectos epidemiológicos de la enfermedad de Carrión. Rev. Soc. peru. Epidem., 1:1-15, 1986.
17. SHANNON, R. Studies on Carrions disease. IV. Ecological evidence indicating that Phlebotomus is the transmittes of verruga. Amer. J. Hyg., 10:88-111, 1929b.
18. SOLANO, L.; QUIROZ, C.; ALARCON, J.; LUNA, A. & CHUMBE, W. Situación epidemiológica de la bartonellosis humana en San Ignacio, Cajamarca, Perú. Bol. Inst. Med. trop." Daniel A. Carrión" UNMSM, 2:1-4, 1983.
19. TOWNSED, C.H. La conquest of verruga. A brief stament of results of the investigation. Peru today, 6:57-67, 1914a.
Recebido para publicação em 03/07/1996
Aceito para publicação em 04/02/1997
TABLE 1
Sand-flies captured in: San Ignacio, Jaén and Utcubamba, Región Nor Oriental del Marañon, Perú (1987-1992)
Lourdes
Lu. maranonensis
Lu. ayacuchensis
Lu. sallesi
Lu. castanea
Lu. pallidithorax
Lu. pia-like
Lu. verrucarum
Lu. cayennensis
Lu. cajamarcensis
Lu. sp. serie Verrucarum
Brumptomyia sp.
W. phlebotomanica
642
97
53
20
9
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
41,82
6,32
3,45
1,30
0,59
0,00
0,00
0,07
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
59
0
1
34
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
15,61
0,00
0,27
8,99
0,00
0,53
0,00
0,00
0,53
0,00
0,00
0,00
81
0
4
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
28,82
0,00
1,42
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,36
0,00
0,00
0,36
0,00
85
0
29
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
18,16
0,00
6,20
0,21
0,43
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,21
19
0
0
17
0
3
4
0
0
1
0
0
18,63
0,00
0,00
16,67
0,00
2,94
3,92
0,00
0,00
0,98
0,00
0,00
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
20,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
10,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
888
97
87
72
11
5
4
3
2
1
1
1
32,00
3,50
3,14
2,60
0,40
0,18
0,14
0,11
0,07
0,04
0,04
0,04
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
14 Oct 1998 -
Date of issue
Jan 1997
History
-
Accepted
04 Feb 1997 -
Received
03 July 1996