Fragments of urban forest in a large Amazonian city as habitats for potential Leishmania vectors

To characterise the phlebotomine sand fly fauna, including potential Leishmania vectors, in urban forest fragments within a leishmaniasis-endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon. The study was conducted in three sites: Parque Estadual do Utinga, Mata do Batalhão “Pedro Teixeira”, and Mata da Marinha. Ten CDC light traps were installed per site and operated from 18:00 to 06:00 between September 2014 and May 2016. Female sand flies were taxonomically identified and grouped into pools by species and collection site. Natural infection with Leishmania was assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 8465 phlebotomine sand flies were collected, with Mata do Batalhão “Pedro Teixeira” contributing the largest proportion. The assemblage was dominated by Nyssomyia antunesi (60.01%), followed by Psychodopygus davisi (18.01%) and Bichromomyia flaviscutellata (4.89%). No Leishmania DNA was detected. Despite the absence of detected infection, the high abundance and wide distribution of confirmed and putative vector species indicate that urban forest fragments in Belém provide favourable ecological conditions for Leishmania transmission. These findings underscore the importance of continued entomological surveillance and vector monitoring in urban environments.