**4. Natural infection of phebotomine with Leishmania**

#### **4.1. Vectors of** *L. (Leishmania) infantum chagasi*

According to Killick‐Kendrick [47], four criteria must be fulfilled before incriminating a given specie as a vector for a zoonotic disease: feeding on humans and in the animal reservoir, supporting the parasites after ingestion, displaying indistinguishable parasites from those isolated from patients and transmitting the parasite by biting.

*Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) longipalpis* is the most competent vector for *L. (L.) infantum chagasi* in VL Latin American foci; however, other sandflies species may be acting in the cycle of VL, mainly in areas where *Lu. longipalpis* is absent [48, 49]. In fact, *Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) evansi* has been related to VL transmission in Colombia [50–53] and Venezuela [54, 55].

Other reports from Argentina and Brazil associated the presence of *Migonemyia migonei* with autochthonous cases of VL [49, 56, 57]. Recent studies using quantitative poly‐ merase chain reaction (qPCR) [58] and experimental infection [59] confirmed *Mg. migonei* as a potential vector of VL in Latin America. In addition, *Nyssomyia antunesi* [60] and *Lu.* (*Lutzomyia*) *cruzi* [61] were found naturally infected with *L. chagasi* in Brazil. Montoya‐ Lerma et al. [62] observed an association between *Pi. evansi* and *L. (L.) infantum chagasi* infection, and indicated that *Pi. evansi* represents a potential vector for VL in Colombia and Venezuela.

Evidence of transmission of VL by *Lu. cruzi* in the area of Jaciara, State of Mato Grosso in Brazil was confirmed by Missawa et al. [63]. *Lu. cruzi* and *Lu. (Lutzomyia) forattinii* are potential VL vectors in the area of Corumbá (Brazil)*,* where notifications of the disease in humans and dogs have increased over the last two decades [64]*.*

CL vectors such as *Nyssomyia neivai* were found infected with *L. (L.) infantum chagasi* in the city of Florianópolis (in the South region of Brazil) [65] and in an urban area of Minas Gerais state (in the Central region of Brazil), with no records of human VL and no data available for canine VL [66]. Similarly, as observed in Brazil, natural infection of *Mg. migonei* and *Nyssomyia whitmani* were found in Argentina [67].

Note: The classification and abbreviation of sandflies were used here according to Galati [68] and Marcondes [69], respectively.
