Meeting Abstract
A commercial mosquito trap was used for the collection of phlebotomine sandflies, known vectors of the parasitic protozoa Leishmania. Infected sandflies have been implicated in the transmission of the infectious disease Leishmaniasis to humans throughout the Amazon rainforest. Our study area, located in Las Piedras Basin of the Madre de Dios region of Peru, provided habitat areas to survey insect presence in both forested and deforested locations. A BG-Sentinel mosquito trap with synthetic mammalian scent lures, BG-Lure, and Octenol was used to attract and capture sandflies for this study. The trap was operated overnight in different locations and specimens were removed daily. Extracted DNA was analyzed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm sandfly genus and detect presence of Leishmania.
