Sciences au Sud n°34 - March-April 2006
April 2006
Mosquito Aedes albopictus tours the world
Scientists from the IRD Research Unit ‘Caractérisation et contrôle des populations de vecteur’ and from EID Méditerranée have been investigating the world-wide expansion of a mosquito that transmits the Chikungunya and dengue viruses, responsible for epidemics on Reunion Island.
Aedes albopictus is a vector of arboviruses and is on the way to colonizing the world. It originates from Asia but has already crossed oceans and has succeeded in conquering parts of every continent. The mosquito does this by colonizing quickly the favourable ecological niches available.
The consequences of these changes could be two-fold. First, the establishment of an additional vector species exploiting ecological niches available could create the risk of circulation of viruses pathogenic for humans, such as those behind Chikungunya or dengue fever, even though it has been demonstrated that Ae. albopictus is not a good vector of dengue. Secondly, in the tropical zones, the substitution of Ae. aegypti by Ae. albopictus could bring changes in the epidemiology of arboviral diseases, decreasing the risk of transmission of yellow fever (for which a vaccine exists) and modifying the risk of dengue transmission (for which no preventive medicine is available).
