Environmental suitability for Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) and the occurrence of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Brazil

Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Fiocruz Mata Atlântica, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.3083v1
Subject Areas
Biodiversity, Biosphere Interactions, Ecology, Entomology, Epidemiology
Keywords
Lutzomyia whitmani, American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Ecological Niche Models, Climate Change
Copyright
© 2017 Costa et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Costa SM, Cordeiro JLP, Rangel EF. 2017. Environmental suitability for Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) and the occurrence of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Brazil. PeerJ Preprints 5:e3083v1

Abstract

Leishmaniasis represents an important public health problem in Brazil. The continuous process of urbanization and expansion of human activities in forest areas impacts natural habitats, modifying the ecology of some species of Leishmania, as well as its vectors and reservoirs and, consequently, changes the epidemiological pattern and contribute to the expansion of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) in Brazil. In epidemiology of ACL, we highlight Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani, the main vector of ACL, transmitting two dermotropic Leishmania spp.: Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and Leishmania (Viannia) shawi. We used the maximum entropy niche modeling approach (MAXENT) to evaluate the environmental suitability of L. (N.) whitmani and the transmission of ACL in Brazil, in addition to designing models for a future scenario of climate change. MAXENT was used under the "auto-features" mode and the default settings, with 100-fold repetition (bootstrap). The logistic output was used with higher values in the Habitat Suitability Map, representing more favorable conditions for the occurrence of L. (N.) whitmani and human cases of ACL. Two models were developed: Lutzomyia whitmani model (LWM) and American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis model (ACLM). LWM identified that the species "prefers" (more appropriate habitat) regions with moderate Annual Precipitation (AP), between 1,000 - 1,600 mm, intermediate vegetation density (NDVI) values, Mean Temperature of The Coldest Quarter (MTCQ), between 15°C - 21°C, and Annual Mean Temperature (AMT), between 19°C - 24°C. ACLM indicates that ACL is strongly associated with areas of intermediate density vegetation, areas with Annual Precipitation (AP) between 800 and 1200 mm, MTCQ above 16 ° C and AMT below 23°C. The results obtained in this study are discussed in terms of epidemiology and surveillance of ACL in future scenarios in Brazil.

Author Comment

This is a submission to PeerJ for review.

Supplemental Information

American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis location points (Raw Data)

American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis location points (Raw Data)

DOI: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.3083v1/supp-1

Lutzomyia (N.) whitmani location points (Raw Data)

Lutzomyia (N.) whitmani location points (Raw Data)

DOI: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.3083v1/supp-2