Health Alert: Half the Population of the Americas at Risk for Insect-Borne Disease

Approximately 50% of people living in the Western Hemisphere are at risk of one or more diseases carried by ticks, flies, mosquitoes, and other vectors. Some of these diseases include West Nile virus, Lyme disease, dengue fever, malaria, chagas, and schistosomiasis. Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) adds, “Our region has achieved many successes in controlling vector-borne diseases. However, this success is being threatened by the expansion of mosquitoes and other vectors into new habitats and by the emergence of insecticide and drug resistance. PAHO and its partners are today calling for stepped-up action in the fight against vector-borne diseases in the Americas.”
Pan American Health Organization, April 2014