Comparative Role ofAedes albopictusandAedes aegyptiin the Emergence of Dengue and Chikungunya in Central Africa

Abstract

Since its discovery in Nigeria in 1991, Aedes albopictus has invaded much of Central Africa, a region where Ae. aegypti also occurs. To assess the relationship between the invasion by Ae. albopictus and the recent emergence of dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV), we undertook vector competence experiments on populations collected from Cameroon and conducted field investigations during concurrent epidemics of DENV and CHIKV in Gabon. Overall, infection and dissemination rates were not significantly different between Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti when exposed to titers of 10(8.1) mosquito infectious dose 50/mL and 10(7.5) plaque forming units/mL of DENV type 2 and CHIKV, respectively. Field investigations showed that Ae. albopictus readily bit man, was abundant, and outnumbered Ae. aegypti to a large extent in Gabon, particularly in suburban environments. Nevertheless, Ae. aegypti was predominant in the more urbanized central parts of Libreville. In this city, CHIKV and DENV were detected only in Ae. albopictus. These data strongly suggest that Ae. albopictus acted as the major vector of both viruses in Libreville in 2007, impacting on the epidemiology of DENV and CHIKV in this area.

The Effects of Interspecific Courtship on the Mating Success ofAedes aegyptiandAedes albopictus(Diptera: Culicidae) Males

“…aegypti and Ae. albopictus, owing largely to their status as important vectors of both dengue and chikungunya viruses (Vazeille et al 2007, Kyle and Harris 2008, Pages et al 2009, Paupy et al 2010, comparatively little is known about their mate recognition systems, particularly with regard to male behavior (reviewed in Oliva et al 2014). Most studies cover female aspects of reproduction and date from the 1970s.…”

Ecoepidemiología de enfermedades transmitidas por vectores

“…En las zonas rurales del sur de la India, A. albopictus es más importante que A. aegypti en la transmisión del dengue y en África Central el mosquito tigre asiático actualmente se considera más importante que A. aegypti en las epidemias de dengue (Paupy, et al, 2010).…”

“…En Gabón, A. albopictus transmite el dengue y se alimenta frecuentemente en humanos (Paupy, et al, 2010), lo cual provee evidencia adicional que no se debe asumir comportamiento zoofílico de esta especie. Aunque el reporte en el continente americano de A. albopictus como especie involucrada en la transmisión del dengue se limita a Buenaventura, Colombia (Mendez, et al, 2006), la continuación de su dispersión en el neotrópico (por ejemplo, Navarro, et al, 2009) exige atención, considerando su estado como vector del dengue en algunas circunstancias.…”

Evidence that implicit assumptions of ‘no evolution’ of disease vectors in changing environments can be violated on a rapid timescale

“…Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti are primary vectors of dengue and chikungunya [38,39], two emerging arboviruses, and thus critical species for modelling the response of vectors to climate change. In addition to sharing important life-history traits Figure 1.…”