U.S. Africa Command joins in celebrating World Health Day on 7 April.

World Health Day 2014 marks 66 years since WHO was established in 1948.

WHO has made this year’s theme to be “small bite, big threat” to bring attention to vector-borne diseases.

According to the WHO website, vectors are small organisms such as mosquitoes, bugs, and ticks that can carry disease from person to person, animal to person and place to place.

This can put health at risk and result in rapidly spreading illnesses especially in an age when so many people travel the globe.  The World Health Day 2014 campaign focuses on some of the main vectors and the diseases they cause and what we can all do to protect ourselves.

Mosquitoes are the best known disease vector.   U.S. AFRICOM conducts medical engagements in support of our African partner nations to help mitigate the impact of such diseases as malaria.

Published statistics on the WHO website state that vector-borne diseases account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases, causing more than 1 million deaths annually, with malaria causing more than 600 000 deaths every year globally, most of them children under 5 years of age.

Many of these diseases are preventable through informed protective measures.

To join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, use #Just1Bite

WHO websites:

http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2014/en/

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs387/en/