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Introduction: Mitochondrial DNA has proven its utility for the study of insect evolution. Genes such as cytochrome b (Cytb) and the transfer gene for serine (SertRNA) can be used to compare closely related organisms., Objective: The phylogenetic utility of Cytb-SertRNA-IG1-ND1 was tested for polymorphisms, and secondary structure modeling in SertRNA was done to detect possible cryptic species in Anopheles neivai., Materials and Methods: Specimens from Colombia, Guatemala, and the type locality in Panamá were collected and sequenced for specimen comparison based on DNA polymorphisms, and secondary structure modeling for the SertRNA gene., Results: Thirty-six sequences for A. neivai and A. pholidotus were obtained., Conclusions: Polymorphic variants were detected in A. neivai for Cytb-SertRNA-IG1- ND1. Despite this variation in A. neivai, cryptic species could not be detected.

An updated list of phlebotomine sand flies species in coffee growing areas in the Colombian Andean region is presented. Fifty three species were reported from 12 departments. In addition, species distribution in the region was derived from specimens obtained during intensive field work in five departments, from previously published studies and from the taxonomic revision of specimens in the entomological collection of the Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales (PECET). The list includes the genera Brumptomyia (2 species), Lutzomyia (50 species) and Warileya (1 species). The updated list contains eleven new records in the region under study, including Lutzomyia panamensis , a species of medical importance not recorded previously in this zone. Eighteen of the species are considered to be anthropophilic, and many of them have been implicated in the transmission of leishmaniasis.

Background: Investigation in health care services by data bases (DB) is undergoing an important increase in numerous countries. Several of the most relevant epidemiologic studies on the postsurgical morbidity and mortality of benign hypertrophy of the prostate (BHP) have used DB. The aim of this study was to prepare and optimize the DB of a health cooperative (Asistencia Sanitaria Colegial)., Methods: Since 1981 the DB contains sociodemographic variables, data concerning visits to general practitioners and specialists, complementary examinations and hospitalizations. The coding system was specifically developed by the cooperative. The study base was made up of all the policies of the members between January 1981 and December 1988 (101,400 males). To identify the policies 14 codes potentially related with BHP were initially chosen and all the policies containing any of these codes were selected, with the manual analysis of 204 policies being thereby performed., Results: The total number of policies initially selected for the study was 3,157. Manual revision discarded the use of 9 of the 14 codes used in the first selection. In agreement with the 5 codes able to define diseases of prostatic gland and to the file in which they appeared the policies were classified as probable diseases of prostatic gland (n = 1,007, 31.9%), possible (n = 805, 25.5%) and improbable (n = 1,345, 42.5%). Likewise, the strategy to follow for the selection of a cohort of BHP cases was defined., Conclusions: The manual analysis of policies evidenced a remarkable coherence and exhaustiveness of the information registered. The principal difficulties found with the data base used were the lack of a sole diagnosis and the coding system used in addition to the impossibility of automatically controlling the assistance received by the patients outside the cooperative system. The availability of a data base such as that herein described with a well defined large population and with accessible sociodemographic and health care information justifies collaborative efforts among health care administrators, clinicians, computer scientists and epidemiologists.