World Health Day: Vector-borne diseases

The theme of this year’s World Health Day, 7 April, is vector-borne diseases.

Vectors are organisms, such as mosquitoes, ticks, midges and sandflies, that can transmit pathogens to animals or persons. These pathogens may be a threat to your health - and that of your family, at home and when travelling. This is the message of this year's World Health Day, which highlights actions we can all take to protect ourselves from the serious diseases that vectors can spread.

Working with the European Centre for Disease Control, the Authority collects data on vectors and vector-borne diseases and analyse their spread in the European Union. This work helps increase understanding of these diseases and support the EU’s ability to respond to new outbreaks.

• World Health Day 2014: Vector-borne diseases – World Health Organization - Regional office for Europe