GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION OF AEDES-AEGYPTI, THE VECTOR OF DENGUE VIRUS IN FRENCH-POLYNESIA

In recent years the incidence of dengue fever epidemics has increased and transmission has tended to be established over a geographically ex panding area, including French Polynesia. An increase in air transport ation contributes to the diffusion of the dengue virus from Southeast Asia, a region considered to be a hyperendemic dengue zone, to the Pac ific region. Presently, little is known about the role of the vector ( Aedes aegypti) in the diffusion of the dengue fever virus. A study on the genetic structure of vector populations was conducted using allozy me polymorphism. This study showed a low level of genetic exchange bet ween mosquito populations on different islands. It is concluded that t he occurrence of dengue hemorrhagic fever in French Polynesia during t he last few years was likely due to the dispersal of the dengue virus via viremic people rather than via infected vectors.