Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the urban area of the municipality of Cianorte, Paraná State, Brazil.

The endemicity of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in the Cianorte municipality, Paraná State the occurrence of human cases with the probable infection locus in the urban area, the presence of a permanently preserved modified native forest in the urban perimeter, and the lack of knowledge of the fauna of sand flies in the municipality provided the impetus for this study. The objective of this study was to assess the fauna, frequency and seasonality of the sand flies in the peridomicile, forest and urban area of this municipality. Sand flies were collected using Falcão light traps installed in the peridomicile and forest, from July 2005 to June 2006. A total of 755 sand flies were collected; Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho) (84.0%), followed by Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto) (12.7%) were the predominant species. The number of sand flies collected in the peridomicile was significantly higher than in the forest (P = 0.0068). The small number of sand flies collected, especially in the forest, may be related to the modifications to the environment on the edge of the Parque Cinturão Verde, which surrounds the urban area of the municipality. Five species of sand flies were distinguished in the urban area of Cianorte, with greater frequencies found in the peridomicile, especially from November to April. Our data illustrate the necessity of maintaining the measures that contributed to reduce human contact with sand flies, thereby reducing the transmission risk of ACL.