Abstract

The Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald, 1901) [=Ochlerotatus japonicus (sensu Reinert
et al., 2004) =Hulecoeteomyia japonica (sensu Reinert et al., 2006)], has invaded large parts of North America
and has recently started to spread in Central-Western Europe. The species is suspected to act as a bridge vector
of West Nile virus but nothing or very little is known about its vector competence for Chikungunya and Dengue
viruses. Here, we report on experiments of laboratory infections of Ae. japonicus with CHIKV and DENV,
demonstrating that the species has a vector potential for both viruses. Considering the high abundance of the
species in urban environments and its ability to feed on human, these results plead to include this species when
processing risk assessments for mosquito-borne diseases.