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Phlebotomine sand flies are insects of medical importance, as they are vectors of viruses, bacteria and trypanosomatids of the genus Leishmania Ross, the causative agent of leishmaniasis (Forattini 1973). During the past 20 years approximately 500,000 cases of leishmaniasis have been reported in Brazil. Most of these cases were reported in the North and Northeast regions. In the State of Roraima, almost 2,000 cases, including both cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL), have been reported during the past three years (SINAN 2017). Usually the transmission by infected female sand flies occurs in wild or rural areas, but there have also been recorded cases and vector captures in urban environments. Some sand fly species are known to enter houses in search of resting places and blood meal sources; as a result of this behavior, they are remarkably adaptable to new environments (Carvalhoet al. 2010).

SummaryThe aim of this study was to evaluate if hormonal treatment causes changes in the morphology of matrinxã Brycon amazonicus spermatozoa. Twelve males were randomized into three treatment groups: 1, Ovaprim™ (0.5 ml/kg); 2, carp pituitary extract (CPE; 2.0 mg/kg); and 3, NaCl solution 0.9% - control group (0.5 ml/kg); with four replicates. Morphological sperm analysis was performed using an optical and scanning electron microscope. The percentage of normal spermatozoa (49.6±4.6% to 60.8±2.8%), with primary (26.1±6.4% to 45.3±4.5%) and secondary abnormalities (4.4±2.9% to 13.9±3.5%) did not differ significantly between treatment groups. There were no significant differences between treatments in relation to the primary abnormalities found in the head (10.5±3.8% to 25.5±6.3%), the midpiece (0.1±0.1% to 0.2±0.2%) and in the flagellum (18.9±3.8% to 15.5±3.1%), as well as in the secondary abnormalities, located in the head (0.8±0.4% to 7.8±4.6%) and in the flagellum (2.2±1.1% to 6.1±1.5%). When each abnormality was evaluated individually, only the percentage of degenerated head was higher in the CPE-induced group (24.9±5.9%) than the control group (7.2±3.1%). We concluded that the use of pituitary extract of carp or Ovaprim™ under the conditions of this experiment does not influence the percentage of sperm abnormalities in B. amazonicus.