Blood meal identification and parasite detection in laboratory-fed and field-captured Lutzomyia longipalpis by PCR using FTA databasing paper

The phlebotomine sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis takes blood from a variety of wild and domestic animals and transmits Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi, etiological agent of American visceral leishmaniasis. Blood meal identification in sand flies has depended largely on serological methods but a new protocol described here uses filter-based technology to stabilise and store blood meal DNA, allowing subsequent PCR identification of blood meal sources, as well as parasite detection, in blood-fed sand flies. This technique revealed that 53.6% of field-collected sand flies captured in the back yards of houses in Teresina (Brazil) had fed on chickens. The potential applications of this technique in epidemiological studies and strategic planning for leishmaniasis control programmes are discussed.