Yellow fever virus susceptibility of two mosquito vectors from Kenya, East Africa

Yellow fever is an unpredictable disease of increasing epidemic threat in East Africa. Aedes (Stegoinyia)aegypti has never been implicated as a vector in this region and recent outbreaks have involved a newly emerging virus genotype (East African). To better understand the increasing epidemic risk of yellow fever in East Africa, this study is the first to investigate the vector competence for an emerging East African virus genotype in Kenyan A. aegypti sensu tau (s.l) and A. (Stegomyia) simpsoni s.l. mosquito species. Using first filial generation mosquitoes and a low passage yellow fever virus, this study demonstrated that although A. aegypti s.l. is a competent vector, A. simpsoni s.l. is likely a more efficient vector. (C) 2012 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.