Two populations of Phlebotomus ariasi in the Cévennes focus of leishmaniasis in the south of France revealed by analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons.
Two distinct populations of Phlebotomus ariasi Tonnoir have been identified in the Cévennes focus of leishmaniasis in the south of France using gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) of cuticular hydrocarbons extracted from individual dried female flies. Results were obtained after analysis of flies collected from CDC light traps from a domestic and a sylvatic site separated by a distance of 900 m. Flies were provided for GLC analysis as six blind samples. Using cluster and discriminant analysis techniques, five of the samples were shown to form two distinct groups, while a sixth was identified as a mixture. These findings were subsequently confirmed to correspond exactly with the way the samples had been presented. Samples grouped together on the basis of the flies' cuticular hydrocarbon profiles had been taken from the same site, while the ungrouped sample had been deliberately mixed. Using a jack-knifed estimator, it is shown that specimens can be correctly allocated to the population to which they belong with a 92% success rate. These results confirm the value of the technique for the identification of populations of medical vectors. The implication of the findings for the epidemiology of leishmaniasis is discussed with special reference to the need to determine if both populations are vectors and to study differences in behaviour. In addition to adults, profiles of larval sandflies have been obtained for the first time.