First record of Ae. albopictus (Skuse 1894), in Central African Republic

Methods Mosquito aquatic stages were collected in domestic and peri‐domestic areas, and epidemic risk indexes (Breteau, Container) were calculated for each prospected location. Adult female mosquitoes were captured by human landing catches, while larvae were sampled by inspecting artificial and natural breeding sites in randomly selected premises. Results Seventy‐eight adults Aedes albopictus were collected in Bangui and Bayanga. Mosquito biting rate and abundance were, respectively, 0.33–1.70 bites/human/hour and 14.6% in Bangui and 0.04–0.16 and 0.4% in Bayanga. Larval sampling revealed a large diversity of water container harbouring the species in Bangui, Bayanga, Nola and Salo including unused containers, old tires, vehicle carcasses, buckets, barrels and stem of bamboo. The epidemic risk indices were erratic according to the location, ranging between 1.5–27.6 for Breteau and 1.3–47.1 for Container. Conclusion This is the first record of Ae. albopictus in two bioclimatic zones of CAR This observation emphasizes the need to further investigate its potential impact on dengue and chikungunya viruses transmission regarding their recent emergences in Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Somalia, Gabon, Cape Verde Islands).