2014, the focus of World Health day was on vector-borne diseases. World Health Day is a worldwide initiative celebrated every year on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948.

Vector sampling protocols outlining the recommended methods for collecting vectors have been issued today by ECDC and EFSA, to support entomologists and public-health professionals in Europe. It is a first attempt to summarise best-practices in terms of methods and strategies for sampling mosquitoes, sandflies, biting midges and ticks.