Abstract:
Leishmaniasis, caused by parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and transmitted
by vector sandflies, is a major health concern in Sri Lanka. Majority of the cases detected
at present are cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) though a few cases of visceral leishmaniasis
(VL) are also reported. Though there are several species of sandflies reported in Sri
Lanka, the sandflies that belong to Phlebotomus argentipes complex is presumed as the
probable vector of Sri Lankan CL, through preliminary studies on distribution of sandflies
in the country.
