April 25th, internationally recognized as World Malaria Day, brings awareness and prevention to a mosquito-borne disease that infects over 220 million people of all ages globally each year. And of those cases, nearly a half-million are fatal.
While local transmission of malaria in North America was eradicated in 1951, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consistently reports 1,500 new confirmed cases each year in travelers returning from abroad. Canada reports even fewer cases annually, at less than 500.
Malaria has plagued humans for ages, and while the world has made great strides in combating it, new worldwide cases have only started to level off over the past decade, leaving half the world still at risk. The goal of this campaign however, is to see a drastic decline in cases through mosquito control efforts, funding, and research.
Mosquitoes are vectors of many other diseases that threaten public health. West Nile virus, Zika virus, dengue fever, chikungunya, and yellow fever—to name a few—are potentially life-threatening illnesses, but like malaria, are all preventable. Fortunately though, mosquitoes do not spread coronavirus (COVID-19).
Through education, detection, and prevention techniques, we can keep each other safe. Join the “zero malaria” movement and protect your community from mosquito-borne disease. Target Specialty Products offers an array of professional vector control products that will help you fight the bite.
