[Aedes albopictus: chronical of a spreading vector].

Over the last 50 years the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes (stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) has spread to all continents in the old and new world. This anthropophilous species is able to adapt to most climates. Although long considered as a secondary disease vector, it has been shown to be competent for arbovirus transmission under laboratory conditions. In several locations that it has invaded, the tiger mosquito has played a major role in arbovirus transmission (dengue fever and chikungunya). A recent example is the outbreak of chikungunya on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion