Proposal for an Annual “World Medical Entomology Day” to Honour a Discipline Critical to Global Health

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases remain among the most persistent and dynamic threats to glob­al health. According to the World Health Organ­ization (WHO), these diseases account for more than 700,000 deaths an­nually and im­pose a dis­proportionate bur­den on tropical and subtropi­cal populations, particularly in low- and mid­dle-income countries (1). Mos­quitoes, ticks, sand flies, triatomines, black flies and other hema­tophagous arthropods transmit pathogens re­spon­sible for malaria, dengue, lymphatic fila­riasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, yellow fe­ver, Zika, chikungunya, tick-borne encephali­tis and numerous emerging zoon­oses. Rapid urbani­zation, globalization, en­vironmental deg­rada­tion, climate change and insecticide re­sistance are reshaping the epidemiology and geographic distribution of these infections, in­creasing both their incidence and unpredict­ability (2, 3).

Medical entomology-the scientific dis­ci­pline devoted to the study of arthropods of medical and veterinary importance-provides the criti­cal evidence base for un­derstanding transmission dynamics, vector ecology, sur­veillance sys­tems and control interventions. Despite its foun­da­tional im­portance to public health, the field of­ten operates outside broader public awareness. In recognition of its historic contributions and contemporary relevance, we propose the for­mal establishment of an annual “World Medi­cal Entomology Day” to honor the discipline, elevate its visibility and strengthen global com­mitment to vector-borne disease prevention in alignment with Sustain­able Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and the WHO Global Vector Control Response (GVCR) 2017–2030 (4).