Detection of natural infection of Leishmania donovani (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in Phlebotomus argentipes (Diptera: Psychodidae) from a forest ecosystem in the Western Ghats, India, endemic for cutaneous leishmaniasis

•Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania donovani was recorded recently among the Kani tribes dwelling in the evergreen Agasthyamala forest, Western Ghats, India.•In the present study, we detected natural infection of L. donovani in unfed, fulfed and gravid specimens of Phlebotomus argentipes collected from this region using a multiple genetic marker approach, indicating the role of this sand fly species in disease transmission.•The HSP70 gene sequences of L. donovani parasite isolates from P. argentipes was found to be genetically identical with the human isolates, confirming P. argentipes to be the vector of CL in this endemic region.