> Aedes aegypti is not even native to South America- it's African. So eliminating it from the New World can't do that much damage given that the ecosystem got along fine before it arrived.

This logic may have been applicable way back when the first few Aedes aegypti made their way to the New World, but at this point, so much has changed in our New World, and we don't really know all the ecological changes that Aedes aegypti may have already caused. Perhaps, they have become an integral part of our society.