Natural infection of Phlebotomus perfiliewi with Leishmania infantum in a cutaneous leishmaniasis focus of the Abruzzi region, Italy.

One out of 213 Phlebotomus perfiliewi caught from an endemic cutaneous leishmaniasis focus in Abruzzi region (Italy) was naturally infected with promastigotes. The parasites were grown in culture medium and in a hamster, typed by the examination of 11 isoenzymes, and found to be indistinguishable from Leishmania infantum s.st. (Montpellier zymodeme 1). The probable role of P. perfiliewi in the transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis due to L. infantum s.l. in the focus is discussed.