[Leish-l] why is Leishmania donovani restricted to humans in Indian subcontinent?

[Carlos Brisola Marcondes]

Dear all,
*Leishmania donovani* seems to have been introduced from East Africa to
Indian subcontinent, where it has infected mostly humans, differently from
East African foci.
   Why does this occur? Is this caused by feeding preferences of *Phlebotomus
argentipes*, which bites mostly ruminants and humans and is associated to
houses? Or are dogs rarer in that region than in Brazil, where these
animals are important reservoirs of *Leishmania infantum* and frequently
bitten by *Lutzomyia longipalpis*?

Sincerely yours
prof. dr. Carlos Brisola Marcondes
Dept. Microbiol. Imunol. Parasitol./CCB
Federal University of Santa Catarina
Florianópolis (SC)
CV: http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.do?id=K4783901J2
blog: http://entomomedica.blogspot.com.br/
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