Leishmania parasites have the capacity to rapidly adapt to changing environments in their digenetic life cycle which alternates between a vertebrate and an invertebrate host. Emergence of resistance following drug exposure can evoke phenotypic alterations that affect several aspects of parasite fitness in both hosts. Current studies of the impact of resistance are mostly limited to interactions with the mammalian host and characterization of in vitro parasite growth and differentiation. Development in the vector and transmission capacity have been largely ignored. This review reflects on the impact of drug resistance on its spreading potential with specific focus on the use of the sand fly infection model to evaluate parasite development in the vector and the ensuing transmission potential of drug-resistant phenotypes.

利什曼原虫具有在其双基因生命周期中迅速适应不断变化的环境的能力，这种环境在脊椎动物和无脊椎动物宿主之间交替。药物暴露后耐药性的出现会引起表型改变，从而影响两个宿主体内寄生虫适应性的几个方面。目前对抗药性影响的研究主要限于与哺乳动物宿主的相互作用和体外表征寄生虫的生长和分化。矢量和传输容量的发展在很大程度上被忽略了。这篇综述反映了耐药性对其传播潜力的影响，特别侧重于使用沙蝇感染模型评估载体中的寄生虫发育以及随之而来的耐药表型的传播潜力。