WiRED Releases Vector-borne Diseases Module

BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN

 

WiRED International announces the launch of a training module on vector-borne diseases in its Health Learning Center. The module is part of WiRED’s Infectious Disease Series, which will be released in full this year.

 

Every person on the planet is at risk from viruses and bacteria transmitted by vectors. Vectors are living organisms such as mosquitoes, ticks, house flies and fleas that can transmit infectious diseases between humans or from animals to humans.

 

WiRED’s Vector-borne Module provides an overview of the main vectors and the diseases they cause, and it covers transmission, risk factors, detection and control, response to outbreaks, elimination and measures of prevention.

 

The World Health Organization reports that vector-borne diseases account for 17% of all infectious diseases, causing more than one million deaths annually. Malaria alone causes almost half of those deaths, mostly of children under five years of age, while dengue is the fastest growing vector-borne disease. Others include Zika, chikungunya and Lyme diseases.

 

Vector-borne diseases are especially difficult to predict, prevent and control, and few vaccines are available. Global travel and climate change increase the risk of transmission and outbreaks. Infectious diseases inordinately plague people in areas where safe drinking water and sanitation are non-existent, but they seriously affect people on every continent in the world.

 

WiRED believes that bringing free medical and health education to underserved communities is the key to the prevention and elimination of any disease.