Small bite, big threat: World Health Day 2014

This year the theme for World Health Day on 7 April is “vector-borne diseases”. It provides an ideal opportunity for individuals and communities to get involved in tackling this particular group of diseases that continue to be an important public health problem. Vector-borne diseases pose a devastating obstacle to human health and overall economic development. Responsible for approximatley17% of the estimated global burden of infectious diseases [1], vector-borne diseases contribute to lost productivity, school absenteeism, social stigma, poverty, high health-care costs and overburdened public health services [2].