Detection of Leishmania DNA in Phlebotomine Sand Flies in Tsatee, a Community in the Volta Region, Ghana
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Date
2023
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BioMed Research International
Abstract
Leishmania parasites, which are spread by infected female sand flies, are the cause of the disease leishmaniasis. Although
cutaneous leishmaniasis has been found to occur in the Volta Region, there is limited data on vector species and reservoirs.
This study focused on the Tsatee community, in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region, and is aimed at identifying the
sand fly fauna and detecting the presence of Leishmania DNA by the use of primers that target the conserved region of
Leishmania spp. minicircle DNA of the parasite kinetoplast. The miniature light traps and hand aspirators provided by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were used to collect outdoor and indoor sand flies for five months in a
guinea woodland and semideciduous forest area. From the collections, 4,580 phlebotomine sand flies were obtained and
identified, and females were examined for Leishmania DNA using PCR. The male flies were 1,202 (26.24%), non-blood-fed
females were 3,321 (72.51%), and 57 (1.25%) were blood-fed females. It was observed that Sergentomyia species constituted
99.91% of the total collected sand flies with S. africana (76.77%) as the predominant species. Phlebotomus rodhaini (0.09%)
was the only Phlebotomus species identified from the study area. From 283 non-blood-fed sand fly pools and 57 individual
blood-fed species screened, Leishmania DNA was detected in 12 (4.24%) pools and 8 (14.04%) individuals, respectively. It was
observed that Leishmania DNA was detected in all the sand fly species identified except S. collarti. This study reports the first
detection of Leishmania DNA in P. rodhaini in Ghana, with an infection rate of 33.33% (95% CI, 1.23-88.32). The findings
suggest that the role of Phlebotomus in disease transmission in the study area cannot be discounted. Future studies should
include continuous surveillance, blood meal preferences, and vector competence of the various infected phlebotomine sand
flies to create effective control measures.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
parasites, Tsatee community, Sergentomyia species