China facing increasing vector-borne disease risk

Globalization and China's increasing exchanges with the outside world have made the country increasingly vulnerable to vector-borne diseases, a disease control expert has said, as part of an international campaign on the issue.

The number of vectors - insects or animals which pass diseases from one person to another - intercepted by Chinese customs, especially those from southeast Asia and Africa, has been on the rise in recent years, said Liu Qiyong with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, days ahead of World Health Day.

Liu said 90 percent of all malaria cases reported in China in 2013 originated from outside Chinese borders.

Climate change and urbanization have also led to an expansion of vector habitats and has given rise to import risks, he added.

World Health Day, which marks the anniversary of the establishment of World Health Organization in 1948, is celebrated annually on April 7, with a different theme each year, featuring an area of priority in global public health. This year's World Health Day will focus on vector-borne diseases.