| leishmania in sand flies: comparison of quantitative polymerase chain reaction with other techniques to determine the intensity of infection. | quantification of leishmania parasites in the sand fly digestive tract is important for evaluation of vector competence. we compared quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-pcr) with two "traditional" methods, estimation in situ and direct counting with the aid of a hemocytometer, to evaluate their usefulness in different parasite-vector combinations. phlebotomus duboscqi neveu-lemarie and phlebotomus arabicus theodor sand flies were infected with leishmania major and leishmania infantum, resp ... | 2008 | 18283954 |