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during feeding, either from the surface of the host's skin, or from 

 secondary infections in bacterial ly contaminated leishmanial lesions. 

 Disinfecting the feeding surface with alcohol or administering 

 antibiotics to the hamster may be useful precautions to reduce 

 bacterial contamination. 



Leishmania mexicana (strain WR-411) and Leishmania mexicana 

 amazonensis (strain untyped). Brief descriptions of the development 

 of several L mexicana strains (to include L m. amazonensis) in 

 Central and South American sand flies, were provided by Strangways- 

 Dixon and Lainson (1966), Ward et aj_. (1977), Lainson and Shaw (1977), 

 and Christensen and Herrer (1980). These are consistent with the 

 development of L mexicana (strain WR-411) and L m. amazonensis 

 (strain) in Lu_. diabol ica , and are typical of the suprapylarian 

 leishmanias. According to Lainson and Shaw (1979), leishmanias in 

 this taxonomic section have lost the primitive hindgut development in 

 the sand fly host. Flagellates are restricted to the abdominal midgut 

 and cardia, with later anterior migration to the pharynx and 

 mouthparts. Transmission is inoculative by the bite of the sand fly. 



The failure of L m. amazonensis promastigotes to attach to the 

 stomodeal valve, and lack of massive midgut and cardia infections in 

 L_u. diabol ica , may indicate that this sand fly is a less suitable host 

 than _Lu. f laviscutel lata (Mangabeira), the natural vector of the 

 parasite (Ward et _aj_. , 1977). The small number of infection trials 

 (26) is insufficient to formulate conclusions as to the ability of Lu. 

 diabol ica to harbor this subspecies. 



Strangways-Dixon and Lainson (1966), working in Belize, studied 

 the development of two strains of L mexicana in local Lutzomyia 



