More than half the world’s population is at risk from diseases such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, schistosomiasis, and yellow fever, carried by mosquitoes, flies, ticks, water snails and other vectors. Every year, more than one billion people are infected and more than one million die from vector-borne diseases.
The Organization also emphasizes that these diseases are entirely preventable.
Newly published "A global brief on vector-borne diseases" outlines steps that governments, community groups and families can all take to protect people from infection.
Mosquito-borne dengue, for example, is now found in 100 countries, putting more than 2.5 billion people - over 40% of the world's population - at risk. Dengue has recently been reported in China, Portugal and the state of Florida, in the United States of America. Reports from Greece say that malaria has returned there for the first time in 40 years.
On World Health Day 2014, WHO is calling for a renewed focus on vector control and better provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene – key strategies outlined in WHO’s 2011 Roadmap for the control, elimination and eradication of neglected tropical diseases, which sets targets for the period 2012–2020.
View full report here on WHO
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