Vector-Borne Disease

Diseases transmitted by living things to animals or humans are considered vector-borne diseases.  This term is mostly used with reference to insects, including mosquitoes, flies, ticks, and fleas.

Travel medicine focusses a great deal of attention on vector-borne disease.

It is certainly possible to reduce the risk of some vector-borne diseases through medications (malaria) and vaccinations (japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, tick-borne encephalitis, dengue fever) but avoidance measures are still the mainstay for prevention. 

Travel health providers must way up the risk of the disease (location, season of travel, accommodation, individual etc.) against side-effects associated with the intervention (medication, vaccine) and cost. 

Risk is very individual and how people perceive risk is also important.  Malaria may exist in a particular country you are visiting but are you at high risk given your location of stay, accommodation and time of year. Will you have a higher risk for dengue fever? Perhaps the outbreak of chikungunya or zika is of more concern.  

Attention to mosquito avoidance might be a better way of reducing your risk of all 3 diseases.