Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease that is transmitted by sandflies and caused by obligate intracellular
protozoa of the genus
Leishmania. In the present study, we carried out a screening on the experimental infection
of
Phlebotomus perniciosus
by bioluminescent
Leishmania infantum
using murine model and artificial feeder. We
developed a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based method to determine individually the number of
Leishmania promastigotes fed by infected flies. Among 1840 new emerged female sand flies, 428 were fed on the
infected mice. After their death, they were analysed individually by RT-PCR. Our results demonstrated just a single
Leishmania positive female at sixth day post meal. A total of 1070 female sand flies were exposed in contact with
artificial feeder containing the human blood with two different quantities of
Leishmania parasites: 2.10
6/mL and
1.10
7/mL. A blood meal including 1.10
7/mL LUC-promastigotes was proposed to 270 females and 75 (28%) flies were
engorged. Among them, 44 (59%) were positive by RT-PCR analysis, with a relative average of 50551
Leishmania
parasites. In case of blood feeding of females with 2.10
6/mL promastigotes, 57 out of 800 (7%) females succeed to
feed from artificial feeder which 22 (39%) were positive with a relative average of 6487 parasites.
