THE ENDEMICITY OF LEISHMANIA-TROPICA (ZYMODEME MON-137) IN THE EIRA-YARQA AREA OF SALT DISTRICT, JORDAN

The endemicity of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania tr opica was ascertained in a focus of the disease around Eira and Yarqa in Salt District, Jordan. This focus is about 10 km to the east of ano ther focus of CL, where L. major is the causative agent. As CL occurs sporadically in the study area, with nine cases diagnosed between 1993 and 1995, it is probably zoonotic. Each case had one or two lesions a nd most lesions were on the face. Isoenzymatic electrophoresis showed that all the parasites isolated in the Eira-Yarqa focus and identified to zpmodeme level belonged to zpmodeme MON-137 and therefore differed from all the L. tropica isolates identified in other regions of Jorda n.Eight species of Phlebotomus (P. alexandri, P. major, P. sergenti, P . papatasi, P. perfiliewi, P. jacusieli, P. canaaniticus and P. arabic us), two members of the Sergentomyia dentata group and S. tiberiadis a nd S. taizi were collected in the focus, using castor-oil traps. The e pidemiological significance of the sandflies collected is discussed.