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Vector-Borne Disease National Strategy

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Vector-Borne Disease National Strategy

Read the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People

Imagine a “nation where vector-borne diseases no longer threaten the  health of people.” That’s the vision of the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases (VBD) in People, also called the VBD National Strategy as directed by the Kay Hagan Tick Act. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention co-lead the development of the National Strategy, building upon the interagency 2020 Vector-Borne Disease National Public Health Framework published by CDC.

The Problem

Americans are at an increasing risk of vector-borne diseases, and the United States is not sufficiently prepared to respond to these threats.

A Coordinated Approach

To address the growing threat to public health, OASH and CDC are co-leading an interagency effort with more than 15 civilian agencies and the Department of Defense to produce the VBD National Strategy. As mandated by the Kay Hagan Tick Act and in consultation with the now sunset Tick-Borne Disease Working Group (TBDWG), hundreds of external partners have been engaged with over 50 active participants from federal agencies contributing to this report. The VBD National Strategy will

  • Identify gaps and unnecessary duplication in federally funded programs;

  • Define strategic goals to address vector-borne diseases; and

  • Set benchmarks to measure progress toward achieving such goals

Recent Progress

Since the Kay Hagan Tick Act was signed into law in 2019 as part of the FY 2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act - PDF - PDF, OASH and CDC have delivered VBD National Strategy updates at TBDWG public meetings, federal workshops, federal breakout group sessions, conference presentations, public webinars, tribal listening sessions, and two requests for information (RFIs) in the Federal Register for public input. The resulting VBD National Strategy advances many of the 72 TBDWG recommendations with a focus on implementation and agency accountability to deliver

  • Five goals

  • Nineteen strategies

  • Forty-three objectives

  • One-hundred-and-twenty-four sub-objectives.

Vision: A nation where VBDs no longer threaten the health of people.

Mission: Protect people from illness, suffering, and death due to VBDs.

Goals

Goal 1: Better understand when, where, and how people are exposed to and get sick or die from VBDs;
Goal 2: Develop, evaluate, and improve tools, methods, and guidance to diagnose VBDs and their pathogens;
Goal 3: Develop, evaluate, and improve tools, methods, and guidance to prevent and control VBDs;
Goal 4: Develop and assess drugs and treatment strategies for VBDs; and
Goal 5: Disseminate and implement public health tools, programs, and collaborations to prevent, detect, diagnose, and respond to VBD threats.

Working Together

To successfully prevent and control vector-borne diseases in people, a multidisciplinary set of partners from all sectors must be engaged

Implementation success of the VBD National Strategy requires all of us. The federal government in collaboration with other groups will most effectively and efficiently address the complex challenges presented by vector-borne diseases. For example, to accelerate progress together, HHS launched its Lyme Innovation initiative including the LymeX public-private partnership   to advance the National Strategy’s Goal 2 for improved diagnostics and Goal 5 for information distribution and collaboration.

Across government, dozens of federal programs and offices are implementing VBD National Strategy goals. The next phase of federal effort for vector-borne diseases will focus on implementation actions. Both OASH and CDC will publish the VBD National Strategy and subsequent versions on their websites.

Resources

News and Events

February 1, 2024. HHS Releases the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People. HHS.gov/news.

June 29 - 30, 2023. Toward a Common Research Agenda in Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses: A Workshop to Examine Common, Overlapping Clinical and Biological Factors  

March 29, 2023. Public Webinar with Update on the Development of the National Public Health Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases. Virtual event, hosted by CDC.

December 13, 2022. Draft National Strategy for Vector-Borne Diseases: We Want to Hear from You. HHS.gov/blog.

December 9, 2022. Vector-Borne Disease National Strategy Request for Information (RFI) Tribal Listening and Engagement Session. Virtual event, hosted by CDC.

October 4, 2022. Tick-Borne Disease Working Group Public Meeting presentation by the National Strategy Co-Chairs, Developing the Nation’s First National Strategy for Vector-Borne Disease Prevention and Control in Humans.

August 26, 2021. Tick-Borne Disease Working Group Public Meeting presentation by the National Strategy Co-Chairs, National Strategy for Vector-Borne Diseases and LymeX Innovation Updates.

Additional Information

Questions? Please email vectorbornedisease@hhs.gov

Content created by Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH)
Content last reviewed February 6, 2024