Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a widespread zoonosis in Brazil and, up to now, there has been no record of
the main vector of its agent,
Lutzomyia longipalpis
, in the Southern Region. Due to the diagnosis of VL in a dog
in October 2008 in the city of São Borja, in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, a collection of
phlebotomines was undertaken to detect the presence of the vector
Lu. longipalpis. The captures were carried out
with CDC light traps on three consecutive nights in 2008. A total of 39 specimens of
Lu. longipalpis were captured,
thereby increasing the knowledge of the geographical distribution of this important vector.
