LEISHMANIASIS IN ECUADOR .6. EPIDEMIOLOGI C AND ENTOMOLOGIC DATA ON THE LEISHMANIASIS FOCUS OF ZUMBA

The Zumba focus of tegumentary leishmaniasis lies in the southwards Am azonian region of Ecuador. A clinico-epidemiological study has been ca rried out in the area on 83 patients attending health centers. All the biotopes suitable for sandflies, including dwellings, have been sampl ed from February to September 1992 by light trap and human bait catche s. The number of sandflies caught amounts to 2,547. Anthropophilic san dfly fauna is poor and only three species have been recorded. Lutzomyi a serrana abounds inside dwellings where it bites men even during dayt ime. The parasite was identified as an intermediate form between Leish mania panamensis and L. braziliensis. It will be described elsewhere. The high proportion of facial lesions suggests a domiciliary transmiss ion for which Lu. serrana could be a good vector candidate.