Update on the distribution of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Misiones, Argentina

The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus, Diptera: Culicidae) has spread rapidly in the last 30 years from its native region in Southeast Asia. In Argentina, studies on its potential distribution suggest that this species could be found in temperate zones of the province of Buenos Aires. However, since its initial detection in 1998 Ae. albopictus is bounded to the subtropical province of Misiones. To evaluate the presence and abundance of Ae. albopictus in the Northeast of Argentina, we preliminarily evaluated the presence of this vector by analyzing its presence in tires of 20 cities belonging to the province of Misiones and four cities in Northern Corrientes, and then performed an evaluation of the vector in the towns where the vector was detected. Aedes albopictus was present only in two cities of Misiones: Eldorado and Colonia Aurora. Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus accounted for 86% of the individuals collected in the domiciles of both towns. In Colonia Aurora both species were in similar abundances suggesting a co-dominance. The present study extends the austral distribution of Ae. albopictus in Argentina to the city of Colonia Aurora where the highest abundance recorded in Argentina was detected. Nevertheless, the reasons of its bounded distribution in the region are not known

Peridomestic natural breeding sites of Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes and Coutinho) in an endemic area of tegumentary leishmaniasis in northeastern Argentina

The scarce information about breeding sites of phlebotomines limits our understanding of the epidemiology of tegumentary leishmaniasis. Identifying the breeding sites and seasons of immature stages of these vectors is essential to propose prevention and control strategies different from those targeting the adult stage. Here we identified the rural breeding environments of immature stages of Ny. whitmani, vector species of Leishmania braziliensis in the north of Misiones province, Argentina; then we determined and compared the environmental and structural characteristics of those sites. We also identified the season of greatest emergence and its relationship with adult abundance. During a first collection period, between 28 and 48 emergence traps were set continuously for 16 months in six environments of the farm peridomicile and domicile: below house, chicken shed, experimental chicken shed, forest edge, pigsty and under fruit tree. Traps were checked and rotated every 40 nights. A total of 146 newly emerged individuals were collected (93.8% of them were Ny. whitmani), totaling an effort of 23,040 emergence trap-nights. The most productive environments were chicken shed and below house, and the greatest emergence was recorded in spring and summer. During a second collection period, emergence traps and light traps for adult cap-ture were placed in the chicken shed and below house environments of eight farms. Emergence traps were active continuously during spring, summer, and early autumn. Environmental and structural characteristics of each environment were recorded. A total of 84 newly emerged phlebotomines (92.9% Ny. whitmani; 72,144 emergence trap-nights) and 13,993 adult phlebotomines (147 light trap-nights) were recorded in the chicken shed and below house environments. A positive correlation was also observed between trap success of newly emerged phlebotomines and of adults after 120 days. A high spatial variability was observed in the emergence of Ny. whitmani, with the number of newly emerged individuals being highest in soils of chicken sheds with the highest number of chickens and closest to forest edge. Moreover, below house was found to be as important as chicken sheds as breeding sites of Ny. whitmani. Management of the number of chickens in sheds, soil mois-ture and pH, and the decision of where to localize the chicken sheds in relation to the houses and the forest edge, might contribute to reduce the risk of human vector exposure and transmission of Leishmania.Fil: Manteca Acosta, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación.Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"; ArgentinaFil: Cavia, Regino. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Utgés, María Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación.Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"; ArgentinaFil: Salomón, Oscar Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán". Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; ArgentinaFil: Santini, Maria Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación.Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"; Argentin

Peridomestic natural breeding sites of Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes and Coutinho) in an endemic area of tegumentary leishmaniasis in northeastern Argentina

The scarce information about breeding sites of phlebotomines limits our understanding of the epidemiology of tegumentary leishmaniasis. Identifying the breeding sites and seasons of immature stages of these vectors is essential to propose prevention and control strategies different from those targeting the adult stage. Here we identified the rural breeding environments of immature stages of Ny. whitmani, vector species of Leishmania braziliensis in the north of Misiones province, Argentina; then we determined and compared the environmental and structural characteristics of those sites. We also identified the season of greatest emergence and its relationship with adult abundance. During a first collection period, between 28 and 48 emergence traps were set continuously for 16 months in six environments of the farm peridomicile and domicile: below house, chicken shed, experimental chicken shed, forest edge, pigsty and under fruit tree. Traps were checked and rotated every 40 nights. A total of 146 newly emerged individuals were collected (93.8% of them were Ny. whitmani), totaling an effort of 23,040 emergence trap-nights. The most productive environments were chicken shed and below house, and the greatest emergence was recorded in spring and summer. During a second collection period, emergence traps and light traps for adult cap-ture were placed in the chicken shed and below house environments of eight farms. Emergence traps were active continuously during spring, summer, and early autumn. Environmental and structural characteristics of each environment were recorded. A total of 84 newly emerged phlebotomines (92.9% Ny. whitmani; 72,144 emergence trap-nights) and 13,993 adult phlebotomines (147 light trap-nights) were recorded in the chicken shed and below house environments. A positive correlation was also observed between trap success of newly emerged phlebotomines and of adults after 120 days. A high spatial variability was observed in the emergence of Ny. whitmani, with the number of newly emerged individuals being highest in soils of chicken sheds with the highest number of chickens and closest to forest edge. Moreover, below house was found to be as important as chicken sheds as breeding sites of Ny. whitmani. Management of the number of chickens in sheds, soil mois-ture and pH, and the decision of where to localize the chicken sheds in relation to the houses and the forest edge, might contribute to reduce the risk of human vector exposure and transmission of Leishmania.Fil: Manteca Acosta, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación.Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"; ArgentinaFil: Cavia, Regino. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Utgés, María Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación.Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"; ArgentinaFil: Salomón, Oscar Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán". Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; ArgentinaFil: Santini, Maria Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación.Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"; Argentin

Lutzomyia longipalpis presence and abundance distribution at different microspatial scales in an urban scenario

The principal objective of this study was to assess a modeling approach to Lu. longipalpis distribution in an urban scenario, discriminating micro-scale landscape variables at microhabitat and macrohabitat scales and the presence from the abundance of the vector. For this objective, we studied vectors and domestic reservoirs and evaluated different environmental variables simultaneously, so we constructed a set of 13 models to account for microhabitats, macro-habitats and mixed-habitats. We captured a total of 853 sandflies, of which 98.35% were Lu. longipalpis.We sampled a total of 197 dogs; 177 of which were associated with households where insects were sampled. Positive rK39 dogs represented 16.75% of the total, of which 47% were asymptomatic. Distance to the border of the city and high to medium density vegetation cover ended to be the explanatory variables, all positive, for the presence of sandflies in the city. All variables in the abundance model ended to be explanatory, trees around the trap, distance to the stream and its quadratic, being the last one the only one with negative coefficient indicating that the maximum abundance was associated with medium values of distance to the stream. The spatial distribution of dogs infected with L. infantum showed a heterogeneous pattern throughout the city; however, we could not confirm an association of the distribution with the variables assessed. In relation to Lu. longipalpis distribution, the strategy to discriminate the micro-spatial scales at which the environmental variables were recorded allowed us to associate presence with macrohabitat variables and abundance with microhabitat and macrohabitat variables. Based on the variables associated with Lu. longipalpis, the model will be validated in other cities and environmental surveillance, and control interventions will be proposed and evaluated in the microscale level and integrated with socio-cultural approaches and programmatic and village (mesoscale) strategies.Fil: Santini, Maria Soledad. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigaciones Endemo-epidémicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Red de Investigación de la Leishmaniasis en Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Utgés, María Eugenia. Red de Investigación de la Leishmaniasis en Argentina; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; ArgentinaFil: Berrozpe, Pablo Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Red de Investigación de la Leishmaniasis en Argentina; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; ArgentinaFil: Manteca Acosta, Mariana. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; Argentina. Red de Investigación de la Leishmaniasis en Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Casas, Natalia. Red de Investigación de la Leishmaniasis en Argentina; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud. Programa Nacional de Control de Enfermedades Zoonóticas.; ArgentinaFil: Heuer, Paola. Fundación Héctor A. Barceló. Laboratorio de Control de Vectores Entomológicos de Importancia Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Salomón, Oscar Daniel. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Red de Investigación de la Leishmaniasis en Argentina; Argentin

Survival and dispersal of fruit flies of genus Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae): effect of post-teneral feeding

Durante los últimos años, el creciente interés en el uso de la Técnica del Insecto Estéril en Anastrepha fraterculus ha incentivado una serie de estudios para incrementar el conocimiento biológico requerido para desarrollar esta técnica específica. Este método de control requiere como componente clave, que los machos estériles alcancen la madurez sexual en el campo y compitan con los machos salvajes por las cópulas con hembras salvajes. Los machos de A. fraterculus, poseen un largo proceso de maduración sexual de entre 7 y 10 días y por lo tanto, los individuos liberados deberían ser capaces de hallar recursos suficientes hasta estar listos y completar su tarea. Dada la variabilidad dentro de la especie, se debe desarrollar una cría masiva para atender a las particularidades de las poblaciones locales y resulta necesario conocer los requerimientos fisiológicos de esta especie. En la presente tesis se propuso ahondar en aspectos relacionados con la dieta del adulto y sus efectos sobre la supervivencia, la resistencia al ayuno y la dispersión, estudiándolos en condiciones de laboratorio, semi-campo y campo. Se realizaron estudios similares con A. ludens para poder evaluar las similitudes y diferencias entre especies del mismo género. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la concentración de proteínas en la dieta de A. fraterculus produce una reducción en la supervivencia en comparación con dietas con mayor proporción de azúcares, y que esto se puede superar o al menos reducir si se proporciona azúcar adicional. La proporción relativa de proteínas a azúcar en la dieta ofrecida parece ser importante, ya que las moscas alimentadas con dieta artificial con una menor proporción de proteína, o con frutas naturales mostraron valores de supervivencia altos. Los machos que consumen más proteína maduran tempranamente y ven reducida su supervivencia, evidenciando un compromiso entre reproducción y longevidad. En condiciones de jaula de campo, más del 50% de las moscas sobreviven hasta los 10 días de edad, y alrededor del 25% hasta los 12 días de edad, independientemente de la dieta ingerida previamente. La expectativa de vida al día de la liberación en campo resultó similar tanto en A. fraterculus como en A. ludens sin importar la dieta consumida en los días previos, e incluyendo el período de maduración del macho de aproximadamente 10 días. En los ensayos de dispersión y supervivencia en el campo se observó que las tasas de captura se encontraron en el rango del 2 al 6 % (A. ludens) y entre el 2 y 5% (A. fraterculus). En general, para ambas especies la captura de hembras superó y hasta duplicó la de machos. Los tratamientos S (azúcar) (A. ludens) y SC (azúcar luego dieta completa) (A. fraterculus) presentaron un mayor número de capturas que el tratamiento F (dieta proteica 3:1) o C (dieta proteica 5:1) (para A. ludens y A. fraterculus respectivamente). Asumiendo que los individuos de todos los tratamientos son igualmente atraídos al cebo de las trampas, el resultado sugiere que las moscas alimentadas con una dieta rica en proteína poseen una menor supervivencia en condiciones de campo que aquéllas que se alimentaron de azúcar sola o combinada con dieta proteica. El análisis de los patrones de dispersión espacial no mostró diferencias en direccionalidad entre tratamientos dietarios para ninguna de las especies bajo estudio. No se hallaron diferencias en la distribución espacial entre sexos. Los patrones de dispersión de las especies estudiadas en esta tesis no parecen estar asociados a los vientos. En ambas especies estudiadas, el 90 % de las capturas ocurrieron a una distancia igual o menor a 104 metros del punto de liberación central. Se encontró que la captura promedio está autocorrelacionada espacialmente, sin embargo no se halló una asociación entre la tasa de captura de A. ludens y la distancia. En A. fraterculus donde las capturas fueron disminuyendo desde el punto central hacia afuera en todas las direcciones, la asociación entre tasa de captura y distancia resultó significativa. En función de estos resultados, se concluye que en los programas de monitoreo donde el objetivo es estimar la abundancia promedio en el campo, las trampas deberían estar separadas entre sí por al menos el valor del rango del semivariograma, para así obtener muestras con menor probabilidad de estar autocorrelacionadas. En el caso de A. fraterculus, según lo estimado la separación mínima debería ser de 80 metros entre trampas. En cambio para A. ludens, esta distancia debería ser de al menos 100 metros. De esta forma también se podría reasignar las trampas disponibles y el esfuerzo de muestreo a cubrir los bordes o zonas más alejadas en huertos linderos o parches de vegetación natural.In recent years, the growing interest in the use of the Sterile Insect Technique for Anastrepha fraterculus has prompted a series of studies to increase biological knowledge required to develop this specific technique. This control method requires as a key component, that sterile males reach sexual maturity in the field and compete with wild males for copulas with wild females. Males of A. fraterculus, have a long sexual maturation of 7 to 10 days and therefore the released individuals should be able to find enough resources to be ready and complete its task. Given the variability within the species, a mass rearing system must be developed to address the particularities of the local population and it is necessary to know the physiological requirements of the species. This thesis aims to delve into aspects of the adult diet and its effects on survival, resistance to starvation and dispersion, studying these in laboratory, semifield and field conditions. Similar studies were performed with A. ludens to assess the similarities and differences between species of the same genus. Results indicate that the concentration of protein in the diet of A. fraterculus reduces survival compared with diets with a higher proportion of sugars, and that this can be overcome or at least reduced if additional sugar supply is provided. The relative proportion of protein to sugar in the diet seems to be important since flies fed artificial diet with a lower proportion of protein, or natural fruit showed higher survival values. Males that consumed more protein reached maturity early and their survival was reduced, showing a tradeoff between reproduction and longevity. Under field cage conditions, over 50% of the flies survived till day 10, and about 25% survived up to 12 days of age, independently on diet the previously ingested. The life expectancy at the release day was similar in both species (A. fraterculus and A. ludens) regardless of the diet consumed in the previous days, including the period of maturation of males of about 10 days. In field dispersion and survival experiments trapping rates were in the range of 2 to 6% (A. ludens) and between 2 and 5% (A. fraterculus). In general for both species, the capture of females was higher, reaching rates up to two fold that of males. Treatments S (sugar) (A. ludens) and SC (sugar then complete diet) (A. fraterculus) had a higher number of catches than F (3:1 protein diet) or C treatment (5:1 protein diet) (for A. ludens and A. fraterculus respectively). Assuming that individuals of all treatments are equally attracted to the trap bait, the result suggests that the flies fed a high-protein diet have a lower survival under field conditions than those fed on sugar alone or combined with dietary protein. Dispersal spatial pattern analysis showed no difference in directionality between dietary treatments for any of the species under study. We found no differences in the spatial distribution between sexes. Dispersal patterns of the species studied in this thesis did not seem to be associated with wind. In both species studied, 90% of the flies were trapped at a distance equal or lower than 104 meters from the central releasing point. Average trapping is spatially autocorrelated, however no association was found between the rate of capture of A. ludens and distance. In A. fraterculus where catches decreased from the center point outward in all directions, the association between catch rate and distance was significant. According to these results, in monitoring programs where the objective is to estimate the average abundance in the field, traps should be separated by at least the value of the variogram range, in order to obtain samples less likely to be autocorrelated. For A. fraterculus, the minimum distance should be 80 meters between traps. For A. ludens, this distance should be at least 100 meters. This could help reallocate available traps and sampling effort to cover more remote edges or boundaries in orchards or patches of natural vegetation.Fil:Utgés, María Eugenia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Analysis of the invasion of a city by Aedes aegypti via mathematical models and Bayesian statistics

We analysed data from the invasion of a city by Aedes aegypti by using a series of models based on Fisher’s reaction–diffusion equation with Richard’s growth model and Bayesian statistics. The model that best explains the invasion of the city was defined through a step-by-step process of model selection based on a series of candidate models. As explanatory variables, we used the effect of urbanization type and climate variables on the parameters of Fisher’s equation: carrying capacity (K), population growth rate (r), and the diffusion coefficient (D). The resulting model is a reaction–diffusion equation with a near-zero shape parameter, similar to a Gompertz-type growth. The population advance rate of 60.19 m/day allowed Aedes aegypti to fully occupy a medium-sized city in 5 months from the estimated date of colonization. We found that the carrying capacity was dependent on temperature and urbanization type. While the results are coherent with existing literature on this species, most of the theory on population dynamics of Aedes aegypti usually assumes a logistic growth instead of Gompertz population dynamics. This type of growth is faster than logistic at densities lower than the inflexion point but slower at higher densities. Therefore, it is possible that in a regime in which the K depends on the climate, Gompertz dynamics could stabilize the population of this species of mosquito faster than assumed by the existing theory.Fil: Bruzzone, Octavio Augusto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Utgés, María Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud "Dr. C. G. Malbrán"; Argentin

Pre-release diet effect on field survival and dispersal of Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The effect of pre-release diets on starvation resistance, field survival and dispersal of sterile Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua fruit flies was investigated. Protein-enriched diets resulted in reduced longevity under laboratory and field conditions. Flies exposed to a combination of sugar and fresh mango fruit pulp showed greater longevity and field survival. Release–recapture experiments showed that this mango plus sugar diet resulted in the greatest trap capture and the longest life expectancy when compared with the other treatments. Per cent recapture ranged from 0.24% to 17.50%. More females than males were recaptured. Spatial distribution was not affected by diet treatment, sex or replicate, but was affected by environmental conditions, such as vegetation cover or shade in the case of A. ludens or prevalent winds in the case of A. obliqua. Our results confirm the trade-offs between better mating performance and reduced survival produced by protein-rich diets and suggest fresh mango fruits, their products or derivates as an alternative to be developed to overcome this problem for sterile insect technique programmes.Fil: Utgés, María Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Vilardi, Juan Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Oropeza, A.. El Colegio de la Frontera del Sur; MéxicoFil: Toledo, J.. El Colegio de la Frontera del Sur; MéxicoFil: Liedo, P.. El Colegio de la Frontera del Sur; Méxic

Environmental suitability for Lutzomyia longipalpis in a subtropical city with a recently established visceral leishmaniasis transmission cycle, Argentina

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an endemic disease in northeastern Argentina including the Corrientes province, where the presence of the vector and canine cases of VL were recently confirmed in December 2008. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to assess the modelling of micro- and macro-habitat variables to evaluate the urban environmental suitability for the spatial distribution of Lutzomyia longipalpis presence and abundance in an urban scenario. METHODS Sampling of 45 sites distributed throughout Corrientes city (Argentina) was carried out using REDILA-BL minilight traps in December 2013. The sampled specimens were identified according to methods described by Galati (2003). The analysis of variables derived from the processing of satellite images (macro-habitat variables) and from the entomological sampling and surveys (micro-habitat variables) was performed using the statistical software R. Three generalised linear models were constructed composed of micro- and macro-habitat variables to explain the spatial distribution of the abundance of Lu. longipalpis and one composed of micro-habitat variables to explain the occurrence of the vector. FINDINGS A total of 609 phlebotominae belonging to five species were collected, of which 56% were Lu. longipalpis. In addition, the presence of Nyssomyia neivai and Migonemya migonei, which are vectors of tegumentary leishmaniasis, were also documented and represented 34.81% and 6.74% of the collections, respectively. The explanatory variable normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) described the abundance distribution, whereas the presence of farmyard animals was important for explaining both the abundance and the occurrence of the vector. MAIN CONCLUSIONS The results contribute to the identification of variables that can be used to establish priority areas for entomological surveillance and provide an efficient transfer tool for the control and prevention of vector-borne diseases

Presence of Lutzomyia longipalpis and Nyssomyia whitmani in Entre Rios, Argentina

The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of Lutzomyia longipalpis in the Argentine city of Concordia, in the province of Entre Rios, without record of this species despite previous samplings, but with canine cases of visceral leishmaniasis and Lu. longipalpis reports both, from Northern Argentine localities and from the city of Salto, Uruguay, located just across the river and the international border. This study confirms the presence of Lu. longipalpis and Nyssomyia whitmani, related to the risk of visceral and tegumentary leishmaniasis, respectively, in Concordia-Entre Rios. The presence of Lu. longipalpis confirms the ongoing dispersal along the Uruguay river basin. The presence of these species in the study area alerts about the risk of transmission of Leishmania spp.Fil: Santini, Maria Soledad. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Manteca Acosta, Mariana. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; ArgentinaFil: Utgés, María Eugenia. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Aldaz, Maria Esther. Hospital D. C. Masvernat; ArgentinaFil: Salomón, Oscar Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; Argentin