Infection Parameters in the Sand Fly Vector That Predict Transmission of Leishmania major
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001288
- PMID
- 21886852
- PMCID
- PMC3160291
- OpenAlex
- —
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings provide experimental context for factors associated with Leishmania transmission by sand fly vectors and for how infection conditions may relate to disease severity after transmission.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined which measured features of Leishmania major infection in infected sand flies were associated with subsequent transmission to a mammalian host.
Study design
A meta-analysis of multiple transmission experiments compared infection intensity and parasite developmental state with transmission frequency. The experiments also varied parasite inoculum, sand fly oviposition status, and environmental conditions.
Population and setting
The evidence concerns Leishmania major infections in sand fly vectors and transmission by bite to a mammalian host. The abstract describes transmission experiments and discusses implications for laboratory and natural transmission contexts.
Main findings
The proportion of parasites developing into metacyclic promastigotes in the sand fly midgut showed the strongest association with transmission frequency. Analysis across experiments produced a percentage-based threshold associated with transmission competence. Parasite dose, oviposition status, and environmental conditions were also reported to affect transmission frequency, while altered parasite dose was associated with differences in disease severity.
Public-health relevance
The findings provide experimental context for factors associated with Leishmania transmission by sand fly vectors and for how infection conditions may relate to disease severity after transmission.
Important limitations
The supplied evidence does not state additional study limitations. This summary is limited to the single supplied article's abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade assessment of methods, uncertainty, applicability, and the reported threshold.
GIDS interpretation
The article is discoverable under leishmaniasis, transmission dynamics, and climate and environment. These classifications provide topic context only and do not establish or confirm a current surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 5 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.