Vector-Borne Disease Control

Key points

• • A vector is a living creature, usually an insect, that carries an infectious agent from one host to another; biological vectors such as the mosquito and sandfly support part of the agent's life cycle, while the housefly is only a mechanical carrier.
• • Vector-borne diseases include malaria, dengue and filariasis (by mosquitoes), leishmaniasis (by sandflies) and typhus (by lice and fleas).
• • Control attacks the vector at its stages: removing breeding sites (source reduction), killing larvae (larvicides) and killing adults (insecticides).
• • Personal protection reduces contact between the vector and people, using bed nets (especially insecticide-treated nets), repellents and the screening of houses.
• • Because vectors can become resistant to a single insecticide, integrated vector management combines several methods rather than relying on one.
• • Environmental measures, such as proper drainage and covering water storage, remove the still water where mosquitoes breed.