| ten years of kala-azar in west bengal, part i. did post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis initiate the outbreak in 24-parganas? | following resurgence in bihar of epidemic kala-azar, outbreaks of the disease were identified simultaneously in two separate foci about 500 km apart in west bengal in 1980. while the outbreak in one of these foci, in northern west bengal, was the result of a direct extension of the bihar epidemic, the source of parasite in the other (in the village of bandipur in the south of west bengal) remained unknown until a case of nodulo-ulcerative post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (pkdl) was located in ... | 1992 | 1638662 |
| development of leishmania donovani in phlebotomus argentipes & ph. papatasi fed on kala-azar patients in bihar. | a total of 258 laboratory bred ph. argentipes was fed on untreated parasitologically confirmed kala-azar patients. successful development of parasites was noted in 0.54 per cent ph. argentipes fed during the day and 5.33 per cent fed during the night. however, none of the 245 laboratory bred ph. papatasi fed on the same patients, was found positive for successful development of l. donovani in the foregut. | 1991 | 1937591 |
| short report: leishmania dna in phlebotomus and sergentomyia species during a kala-azar epidemic. | 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. | 1997 | 9347957 |
| the effect of anti-sandfly saliva antibodies on phlebotomus argentipes and leishmania donovani. | a study was undertaken to find the effect of repeated bites of the sandfly, phlebotomus argentipes, on its host as well as on the vector itself. the study also aimed to find the effect of the immune serum on the parasite, leishmania donovani, naturally transmitted by the vector. the hamster which was exposed to sandfly feeding showed good antibody titre against the sandfly salivary-gland secretion, which indicates that the salivary-gland secretion is immunogenic in nature. the result also reveal ... | 1998 | 9512990 |
| epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in india. | kala-azar has re-emerged from near eradication. the annual estimate for the incidence and prevalence of kala-azar cases worldwide is 0.5 million and 2.5 million, respectively. of these, 90% of the confirmed cases occur in india, nepal, bangladesh and sudan. in india, it is a serious problem in bihar, west bengal and eastern uttar pradesh where there is under-reporting of kala-azar and post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis in women and children 0-9 years of age. untreated cases of kala-azar are ass ... | 1999 | 10416321 |
| intra-species and stage-specific polymorphisms in lipophosphoglycan structure control leishmania donovani-sand fly interactions. | the leishmania lipophosphoglycan conveys the ability for the parasites to avoid destruction in diverse host environments. during its life cycle within the sand fly vector, the parasite differentiates from a dividing procyclic promastigote stage that avoids expulsion from the midgut by attaching to the gut wall, to a nondividing metacyclic promastigote stage that is unable to attach to the midgut and migrates to the mouth parts for reinfection of a mammalian host. lipophosphoglycan plays an integ ... | 1999 | 10433687 |
| screening sandflies for natural infection with leishmania donovani, using a non-radioactive probe based on the total dna of the parasite. | digoxigenin-labelled total, leishmania donovani dna was used as a probe to detect the parasite in indian phlebotomus argentipes. the probe was quite sensitive, detecting as little as 0.3 pg parasite dna, equivalent to approximately 100 parasites. positive signals could be detected in 12 (32%) of the 38 small (two- to 30-fly) pools of the wild-caught p. argentipes investigated and in a pool of 10 laboratory-bred p. argentipes fed on a patient with post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis. none of the ... | 2000 | 10983557 |
| seasonal and nocturnal landing/biting behaviour of phlebotomus argentipes (diptera: psychodidae). | the nocturnal activity of phlebotomus argentipes (diptera: psychodidae), the main vector of leishmania donovani in india, was studied throughout a year, with monthly collections, between 18.00 and 06.00 hours, of the sandflies landing on 15 humans and 15 cows in the village of bahapur, patna district. the cattle appeared to be better as bait, since more than five female p. argentipes were caught on them for each one caught on the human bait. overall, although p. argentipes were caught during eac ... | 2001 | 11299126 |
| vectorial efficacy of phlebotomus argentipes in kala-azar endemic foci of bihar (india) under natural and artificial conditions. | ability of phlebotomus argentipes to acquire leishmania donovani the causative agent of indian kala-azar was evaluated in the laboratory. flies were fed artificially on infected blood suspensions, using a chick-skin-membrane feeding apparatus, and naturally on leishmania donovani infected mice. in addition flies collected from different endemic areas were dissected and examined for natural infection. flies fed on infected mice showed significantly higher feeding rate (14.4%, p < 0.01) compared t ... | 2001 | 12170928 |
| evaluation of a dot-immunoblot assay for detecting leishmanial antigen in naturally infected phlebotomus argentipes (diptera: psychodidae). | a simple and highly reproducible dot-immunoblot assay was developed to detect leishmanial antigen in phlebotomus argentipes that were naturally infected with leishmania donovani. the test was sensitive to as little as 10 ng of antigenic protein (equivalent to the gut content of one laboratory-infected sandfly) and also appeared to be specific, in that it gave a positive result with some p. argentipes (the primary vector of l. donovani in india) and l. donovani but not with p. papatasi or other p ... | 2005 | 15949184 |
| visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar): challenges ahead. | indian visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is a parasitic disease caused by a haemoflagellete leishmania donovani and transmitted by the bite of sand fly phlebotomus argentipes. it affects various age groups. in india about 1,00,000 cases of vl are estimated to occur annually; of these, the state of bihar accounts for over than 90 per cent of the cases. diagnosis of vl typically relies on microscopic examination of tissue smears but serology and molecular methods are better alternatives currently. notwi ... | 2006 | 16778314 |
| childhood visceral leishmaniasis. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is caused by the protozoan parasite leishmania donovani and transmitted by the bite of infected sandfly phlebotomus argentipes. nearly half of the vl cases occur in children (childhood or paediatric vl). the clinical manifestations of childhood vl are more or less same as in the adults. prolonged fever with anorexia and loss of appetite are the major presenting features. marked enlargement of the spleen and liver (spleen larger than liver) with moderate to severe anae ... | 2006 | 16778316 |
| wilson disease with visceral leishmaniasis: an extremely uncommon presentation. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl), which is caused by the protozoa leishmania donovani and transmitted by the bite of the female sand fly phlebotomus argentipes, is common in bihar, india. wilson disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper metabolism in which copper is deposited in the brain and liver. we report a case of an extremely uncommon combination of these diseases in a patient. treatment options for such a combination of diseases are limited and difficult. | 2007 | 17827379 |
| the efficacy of indoor cdc light traps for collecting the sandfly phlebotomus argentipes, vector of leishmania donovani. | the efficacy of light traps for collecting sandflies (diptera: psychodidae) varies both inter-specifically and intra-specifically (by gender and physiological status) as a result of significant differences in phototropic and other behavioural characteristics. the efficacy of miniature cdc light traps for collecting phlebotomus argentipes annandale & brunetti, a vector of leishmania donovani laveran & mesnil (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae), was assessed in the indian state of bihar. sandflies ... | 2008 | 18498610 |
| vector control by insecticide-treated nets in the fight against visceral leishmaniasis in the indian subcontinent, what is the evidence? | visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is a deadly vector-borne disease that causes an estimated 500 000 new cases a year. in india, nepal and bangladesh, vl is caused by leishmania donovani, which is transmitted from man to man by the sandfly phlebotomus argentipes. in 2005, these three countries signed a memorandum of understanding to eliminate vl from the region. integrated vector management is one of the pillars of this elimination strategy, alongside early case detection and treatment. we reviewed the ... | 2008 | 18564350 |
| dual culture method to determine the relationship of gut bacteria of sandfly (phlebotomus argentipes) with promastigotes of leishmania donovani. | a simple dual culture agar plating technique has been developed and evaluated for its efficiency in determining the relationship of gut bacteria of sandfly with leishmania donovani promastigotes. there are about twenty morphologically distinct bacterial colonies have been isolated from the gut homogenate of phlebotomus argentipes. in dual culture method, each bacterial isolate was inoculated in one half of the plate and the promastigotes of leishmania was inculcated in the other half by streakin ... | 2008 | 19301698 |
| a taxonomic reassessment of the phlebotomus argentipes species complex (diptera: psychodidae: phlebotominae). | the taxonomic status of the sand fly phlebotomus (euphlebotomus) argentipes annandale & brunette 1908, which transmits leishmania (leishmania) donovani (laveran & mesnil 1903) in southern asia, is reassessed, because variation in morphology, behavior, and distribution suggests it to be a complex of sibling species. the putative complex is composed of the nominotypical member phlebotomus argentipes sensu stricto, phlebotomus annandalei sinton 1923 status revived and phlebotomus glaucus mitra & ro ... | 2010 | 20180302 |
| phlebotomus argentipes seasonal patterns in india and nepal. | the current control of phebotomus argentipes (annandale and brunetti), the vector of leishmania donovani (laveran and mesnil), on the indian subcontinent is base on indoor residual spraying. the efficacy of this method depends, among other factors, on the timing and number of spraying rounds, which depend on the p. argentipes seasonality. to describe p. argentipes' seasonal patterns, six visceral leishmaniasis (vl) endemic villages, three in muzaffarpur and three in sunsari districts in india an ... | 2010 | 20380311 |
| influence of topography on the endemicity of kala-azar: a study based on remote sensing and geographical information system. | kala-azar, a fatal infectious disease in many indian states, particularly in bihar, west bengal, uttar pradesh, and jharkhand, is caused by the protozoan parasite leishmania donovani and transmitted by the sandfly vector phlebotomus argentipes. the vector is distributed all over the country but the disease is confined to particular zones since before the last century. in this study, parameters such as altitude, temperature, humidity, rainfall and the normalized difference vegetation index (ndvi) ... | 2010 | 20503185 |
| insecticide susceptibility of phlebotomus argentipes in visceral leishmaniasis endemic districts in india and nepal. | to investigate the ddt and deltamethrin susceptibility of phlebotomus argentipes, the vector of leishmania donovani, responsible for visceral leishmaniasis (vl), in two countries (india and nepal) with different histories of insecticide exposure. | 2010 | 21049013 |
| the paratransgenic sand fly: a platform for control of leishmania transmission. | abstract: background: leishmania donovani is transmitted by the bite of the sand fly, phlebotomus argentipes. this parasite is the agent of visceral leishmaniasis (vl), an endemic disease in bihar, india, where prevention has relied mainly on ddt spraying. pesticide resistance in sand fly populations, environmental toxicity, and limited resources confound this approach. a novel paratransgenic strategy aimed at control of vectorial transmission of l. donovani is presented using bacillus subtilis, ... | 2011 | 21595907 |
| survey of domestic cattle for anti-leishmania antibodies and leishmania dna in a visceral leishmaniasis endemic area of bangladesh. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl), caused by an intracellular parasite leishmania donovani in the indian subcontinent, is considered to be anthroponotic. the role of domestic animals in its transmission is still unclear. although cattle are the preferred blood host for phlebotomus argentipes, the sandfly vector of vl in the indian subcontinent, very little information is available for their role in the disease transmission. in this study, we examined domestic cattle for serological and molecular evide ... | 2011 | 21651757 |
| Serological markers of sand fly exposure to evaluate insecticidal nets against visceral leishmaniasis in India and Nepal: a cluster-randomized trial. | Visceral leishmaniasis is the world' second largest vector-borne parasitic killer and a neglected tropical disease, prevalent in poor communities. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LNs) are a low cost proven vector intervention method for malaria control; however, their effectiveness against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is unknown. This study quantified the effect of LNs on exposure to the sand fly vector of VL in India and Nepal during a two year community intervention trial. | 2011 | 21931871 |
| Morphometric and meristic characterization of Phlebotomus argentipes species complex in northern Sri Lanka: evidence for the presence of potential leishmaniasis vectors in the country. | The transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is of public health concern in Sri Lanka. The parasite Leishmania donovani is reported to be the causative agent for CL in Sri Lanka. However there is no report on the vector of CL in the country. Phlebotomus argentipes sensu lato is the well known vector of L. donovani which causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the nearby South India. The taxon Ph. argentipes previously reported to occur as a species complex comprising of two morphospe ... | 2011 | 22041744 |
| Paratransgenic control of vector borne diseases. | Conventional methodologies to control vector borne diseases with chemical pesticides are often associated with environmental toxicity, adverse effects on human health and the emergence of insect resistance. In the paratransgenic strategy, symbiotic or commensal microbes of host insects are transformed to express gene products that interfere with pathogen transmission. These genetically altered microbes are re-introduced back to the insect where expression of the engineered molecules decreases th ... | 2011 | 22110385 |
| implication of vector characteristics of phlebotomus argentipes in the kala-azar elimination programme in the indian sub-continent. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl), also known as kala-azar in the indian sub-continent (isc), is a major public health concern in bangladesh, india, and nepal, where it is caused by leishmania donovani transmitted by the sand fly phlebotomus argentipes. various ecological parameters including air temperature, rainfall, wind speed, relative humidity, soil moisture, ph, and organic carbon are known to influence the oviposition of female sand flies, as well as the survival and development of larvae. howe ... | 0 | 27376500 |
| comparison of bloodmeal digestion and the peritrophic matrix in four sand fly species differing in susceptibility to leishmania donovani. | the early stage of leishmania development in sand flies is closely connected with bloodmeal digestion. here we compared various parameters of bloodmeal digestion in sand flies that are either susceptible (phlebotomus argentipes and p. orientalis) or refractory (p. papatasi and sergentomyia schwetzi) to leishmania donovani, to study the effects on vector competence. the volume of the bloodmeal ingested, time of defecation of bloodmeal remnants, timing of formation and degradation of the peritroph ... | 2015 | 26030610 |
| exposure to phlebotomus argentipes (diptera, psychodidae, phlebotominae) sand flies in rural areas of bihar, india: the role of housing conditions. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is a vector-borne infectious disease, caused by the protozoan leishmania donovani, which is transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. in an earlier study in bihar, india, we found an association between incidence of vl and housing conditions. in the current study we investigated the influence of housing structure and conditions in and around the house on the indoor abundance of phlebotomus argentipes, the vector of vl in this area. | 2014 | 25184542 |
| reassessment of immune correlates in human visceral leishmaniasis as defined by cytokine release in whole blood. | depressed cell-mediated immunity in human visceral leishmaniasis (vl) (also known as kala-azar), revealed as the inability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) to respond to leishmania antigen, remains a hallmark of and is thought to underlie the progressive nature of this disease. we recently reported the ability of a whole-blood, gamma interferon (ifn-γ) release assay to detect subclinical infections among healthy individuals living in an area where kala-azar is endemic (bihar, india) ... | 2012 | 22539471 |
| do size and insecticide treatment matter? evaluation of different nets against phlebotomus argentipes, the vector of visceral leishmaniasis in nepal. | in the indian subcontinent, leishmania donovani, the parasite causing visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is transmitted by the sand fly vector phlebotomus argentipes. long lasting insecticide treated nets (ln) have been postulated as alternative or complement to indoor residual spraying but there are few field studies evaluating the entomological efficacy of different nets against this vector. we conducted two crossover trials in a vl endemic area in nepal to compare the barrier effect of (1) ln with d ... | 2014 | 25494099 |
| understanding the transmission dynamics of leishmania donovani to provide robust evidence for interventions to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis in bihar, india. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is a neglected vector-borne disease. in india, it is transmitted to humans by leishmania donovani-infected phlebotomus argentipes sand flies. in 2005, vl was targeted for elimination by the governments of india, nepal and bangladesh by 2015. the elimination strategy consists of rapid case detection, treatment of vl cases and vector control using indoor residual spraying (irs). however, to achieve sustained elimination of vl, an appropriate post elimination surveillanc ... | 2016 | 26812963 |
| the potential use of forensic dna methods applied to sand fly blood meal analysis to identify the infection reservoirs of anthroponotic visceral leishmaniasis. | in the indian sub-continent, visceral leishmaniasis (vl), also known as kala azar, is a fatal form of leishmaniasis caused by the kinetoplastid parasite leishmania donovani and transmitted by the sand fly phlebotomus argentipes. vl is prevalent in northeast india where it is believed to have an exclusive anthroponotic transmission cycle. there are four distinct cohorts of l. donovani exposed individuals who can potentially serve as infection reservoirs: patients with active disease, cured vl cas ... | 2016 | 27192489 |
| measures to control phlebotomus argentipes and visceral leishmaniasis in india. | visceral leishmaniasis is a deadly parasitic disease that is transmitted via the bite of a female sand fly, phlebotomus argentipes. the highest burden of this disease is in northern india. in 2005, india embarked on an initiative with nepal, bangladesh, and the world health organization to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis by 2015. with the goal of 1 case in 10,000 people still unmet, it is prudent to evaluate the tools that have been used thus far to reduce vector numbers and cases of the diseas ... | 2016 | 27308270 |
| transmission of leishmania donovani in the hills of eastern nepal, an outbreak investigation in okhaldhunga and bhojpur districts. | in the indian subcontinent, visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in a geographical area coinciding with the lower gangetic plain, at low altitude. vl occurring in residents of hill districts is therefore often considered the result of leishmania donovani infection during travel. early 2014 we conducted an outbreak investigation in okhaldhunga and bhojpur districts in the nepal hills where increasing number of vl cases have been reported. | 2015 | 26252494 |
| visceral leishmaniasis with roth spots. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is caused by the protozoan parasite leishmania donovani and transmitted by the bite of infected sandfly phlebotomus argentipes. the protozoa is obliged intracellularly and causes a wide spectrum of clinical syndromes: vl ('kala azar'), cutaneous leishmaniasis and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (espundia). kala azar is the most aggressive form and if untreated causes high mortality. here, we describe a case of vl that presented to us with high-grade fever and found to hav ... | 2014 | 25988048 |
| antimony resistant leishmania donovani but not sensitive ones drives greater frequency of potent t-regulatory cells upon interaction with human pbmcs: role of il-10 and tgf-β in early immune response. | in india the sand fly, phlebotomus argentipes, transmitted parasitic disease termed kala-azar is caused by leishmania donovani (ld) in humans. these immune-evading parasites have increasingly developed resistance to the drug sodium antimony gluconate in endemic regions. lack of early diagnosis methods for the disease limits the information available regarding the early interactions of this parasite with either human tissues or cell lineages. we reasoned that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (p ... | 2014 | 25032977 |
| seasonal variation in the prevalence of sand flies infected with leishmania donovani. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is a life threatening neglected infectious disease in the indian subcontinent, transmitted by the bite of female sand flies. estimation of the infectivity in the vector population, collected in different seasons, may be useful to better understanding the transmission dynamics of vl as well as to plan vector control measures. | 2013 | 23585896 |
| prevalence of sand flies and leishmania donovani infection in a natural population of female phlebotomus argentipes in bihar state, india. | leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease, and in the indian subcontinent the female phlebotomus argentipes is the vector for leishmania donovani. however, data on the extent of sand fly infection rates in natural settings using molecular methods have not been extensively reported in india. in this study a pcr technique was applied targeting the 18s rrna encoding region to determine the prevalence of leishmania infection in female p. argentipes captured in the field. for this study, sand flies wer ... | 2012 | 22217179 |
| leishmania donovani development in phlebotomus argentipes: comparison of promastigote- and amastigote-initiated infections. | leishmania parasites alternate in their life cycle between promastigote stages that develop in the gut of phlebotomine sand flies and amastigotes residing inside phagocytic cells of vertebrate hosts. for experimental infections of sand flies, promastigotes are frequently used as this way of infection is technically easier although ingestion of promastigotes by sand flies is unnatural. here we aimed to answer a critical question, to what extent do promastigote-initiated experimental infections di ... | 2017 | 27876097 |
| characteristics of phlebotomine sandflies in selected areas of sri lanka. | cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) is an endemic disease in sri lanka. studies on vector aspects, although important for better understanding of disease transmission dynamics, are still limited. the present study describes the species distribution and behavioral patterns of sandflies within selected disease-prevalent zones in the country. adult sandflies were collected from several field sites over a two-year duration in sri lanka using cattle-baited net traps, cdc light traps and manual methods. spec ... | 2015 | 26867357 |
| detection of natural infection of leishmania donovani (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae) in phlebotomus argentipes (diptera: psychodidae) from a forest ecosystem in the western ghats, india, endemic for cutaneous leishmaniasis. | a new focus of transmission of leishmania donovani causing cutaneous manifestations (cl) was reported by us earlier, in the western ghats region of thiruvananthapuram district, kerala, india. 12,253 sand fly specimens, comprising of three species belonging to the genus phlebotomus (24.7%) and 16 species belonging to the genus sergentomyia (57.3%) were collected from the region during 2012-2014. among phlebotomus species, phlebotomus argentipes was found predominant (77.3%), followed by phlebotom ... | 2016 | 26774685 |
| a proteomic map of the unsequenced kala-azar vector phlebotomus papatasi using cell line. | the debilitating disease kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis is caused by the kinetoplastid protozoan parasite leishmania donovani. the parasite is transmitted by the hematophagous sand fly vector of the genus phlebotomus in the old world and lutzomyia in the new world. the predominant phlebotomine species associated with the transmission of kala-azar are phlebotomus papatasi and phlebotomus argentipes. understanding the molecular interaction of the sand fly and leishmania, during the developmen ... | 2015 | 26307495 |
| the race to discover the insect vector of kala-azar: a great saga of tropical medicine 1903-1942. | in the 19(th) century, a devastating epidemic of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) swept through northeast india. after identification of the pathogenic agent, leishmania donovani, in 1903, the question of its transmission remained to be resolved. in 1904, thanks to work by l. rogers on cultures of this parasite it became probable that a haematophagous arthropod was responsible for transmission. j.a. sinton suggested, in 1925, the distribution of the sand fly phlebotomus argentipes was similar ... | 2013 | 23516011 |
| identifying salivary antigens of phlebotomus argentipes by a 2de approach. | in the indian subcontinent visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala-azar, is caused by the protozoa leishmania donovani and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected female sand flies phlebotomus argentipes in an anthroponotic cycle. sand fly saliva is known to play an important role in host infection outcome after an infective bite. immunogenicity of p. argentipes saliva has already been described. however, specific antigens that can contribute to these immunogenic properties are unkno ... | 2013 | 23422341 |
| pcr-based detection of leishmania donovani dna in a stray dog from a visceral leishmaniasis endemic focus in bangladesh. | although phlebotomus argentipes as the only known vector of visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is zoophilic in nature, vl is considered to be anthroponotic in the indian subcontinent. peripheral blood samples from 85 stray dogs were examined for any molecular evidence of leishmania infection in vl endemic areas of bangladesh. parasite dna was detected in a blood sample from 1 of 85 (1.2%) stray dogs using its1-pcr, and pcr sequencing of the rrna-its and cytochrome b gene confirmed that the parasitic dn ... | 2013 | 22878541 |
| a morphologically distinct phlebotomus argentipes population from active cutaneous leishmaniasis foci in central sri lanka. | although the reported aetiological agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) in sri lanka is leishmania donovani, the sandfly vector remains unknown. ninety-five sandflies, 60 females and 35 males, collected in six localities in the district of matale, central sri lanka, close to current active transmission foci of cl were examined for taxonomically relevant characteristics. eleven diagnostic morphological characters for female sandflies were compared with measurements described for indian and sri l ... | 2012 | 22510837 |
| role of inhibitors of serine peptidases in protecting leishmania donovani against the hydrolytic peptidases of sand fly midgut. | in vector-borne diseases such as leishmaniasis, the sand fly midgut is considered to be an important site for vector-parasite interaction. digestive enzymes including serine peptidases such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, which are secreted in the midgut are one of the obstacles for leishmania in establishing a successful infection. the presence of some natural inhibitors of serine peptidases (isps) has recently been reported in leishmania. in the present study, we deciphered the role of these isps ... | 2017 | 28645315 |
| establishing, expanding, and certifying a closed colony of phlebotomus argentipes (diptera: psychodidae) for xenodiagnostic studies at the kala azar medical research center, muzaffarpur, bihar, india. | this pilot project was preliminary and essential to a larger effort to define the ability of certain human-subject groups across the infection spectrum to serve as reservoirs of leishmania donovani infection to sand flies in areas of anthroponotic transmission such as in bihar state, india. this is possible only via xenodiagnosis of well-defined subject groups using live vector sand flies. the objective was to establish at the kala azar medical research center (kamrc), muzaffarpur, bihar, india, ... | 2017 | 28525618 |
| environmental factors associated with the distribution of visceral leishmaniasis in endemic areas of bangladesh: modeling the ecological niche. | visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is a parasitic infection (also called kala-azar in south asia) caused by leishmania donovani that is a considerable threat to public health in the indian subcontinent, including densely populated bangladesh. the disease seriously affects the poorest subset of the population in the subcontinent. despite the fact that the incidence of vl results in significant morbidity and mortality, its environmental determinants are relatively poorly understood, especially in banglad ... | 2017 | 28515660 |