-198- 



Coincidental ly, the first female Lu^. diabol ica infected with L 

 mexicana transmitted it to an uninfected hamster by a 45-sec bite on 

 the outside of the right ear, seven days after the infecting blood 

 meal. A lesion appeared at the site within 25 days (Fig. 4-16). The 

 second, third, fourth, and ninth trials were also successful, with 

 lesions appearing between 52 and 148 days after the second blood meal. 

 In the fourth trial, two infected females were allowed to begin 

 feeding on the right ear, were interrupted after a short time, then 

 allowed to feed to repletion on the opposite ear. No lesions appeared 

 on either ear, but one appeared on the left hind foot in 148 days 

 after the transmitting bite(s). The mean time between blood meals of 

 Lu . diabol ica in successful transmissions was 5.8 days and ranged from 

 four to seven days. Table 4-8 gives the results of postfeeding 

 dissections of female J_u. diabol ica involved in transmission of L 

 mexicana (strain WR-411) to hamsters. Of the 19 flies that did not 

 transmit Leishmania , three were negative for parasites, nine had heavy 

 bacterial infections and only remnants of leishmanial infections were 

 seen. Four of the bacterial infections resulted in ruptured 

 peritrophic sacs. The remaining six had light to heavy infections of 

 Leishmania , one of which showed a rather heavy mouthpart infection. 



In all, five (100%) of five hamsters were infected with L 

 mexicana (strain WR-411) by bites of Lu. shannoni (Table 4-9). In the 

 first trial, 12 potentially infected sand flies fed between six and 

 eight days postinfective feed on the ears of an uninfected hamster. 

 Only four of the 12 took visible blood meals. The others probed 

 several times but blood was not seen in their guts. A cutaneous 

 lesion appeared 14 days after the first infected fly fed on the back 



