First detection of dengue and chikungunya viruses in natural populations of Aedes aegypti in Martinique during the 2013 – 2015 concomitant outbreak

• Main Authors: Laurence Farraudière, Fabrice Sonor, Said Crico, Manuel Étienne, Laurence Mousson, Rodolphe Hamel, Dorothée Missé, Anna-Bella Failloux, Frédéric Simard, André Yébakima
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2017-08-01
• Series: Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública
• Subjects: Aedes; culicidae; dengue, transmission; chikungunya, transmission; vector control; Martinique; French West Indies; Caribbean area
• Online Access: http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1020-49892017000100409&lng=en&tlng=en
• ISSN: 1680-5348

ABSTRACT Dengue and chikungunya viruses are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. In Martinique, an island of the French West Indies, Aedes aegypti is the suspected vector of both arboviruses; there is no Aedes albopictus on the island. During the concomitant outbreak of 2013 – 2015, the authors collected wild A. aegypti populations, and for the first time, detected dengue and chikungunya viruses in field-collected females. This paper demonstrates the mosquito’s role in transmission of both dengue and chikungunya on the island, and also highlights a tool that public health authorities can use for preventing outbreaks.