217 - Eighteen years of pan-European vector mapping

Public and animal health authorities face many challenges in the surveillance and control of vector-borne diseases. Eighteen years have passed since pan-European vector mapping was established to facilitate vector-borne disease risk assessment. The task is handled by VectorNet, a joint project of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). VectorNet, in its third iteration (2024–2027), promotes collection, mapping and sharing of distribution data for ticks, mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges that are vectors of important animal and/or human pathogens in Europe. The network also provides scientific support for risk assessment and vector-borne disease management to its contracting agencies through numerous technical reports, fact sheets and other documents. It also performs capacity building through face-to-face trainings and webinars.

VectorNet’s main achievement is the maintenance of a sustainable and active network, connecting medical and veterinary entomologists of many European countries, and providing a medium for the experts to share data, knowledge and resources. The most

tangible outputs are the vector distribution maps, including the vectors of the most important human and animal disease agents, available freely online for health professionals, policy advisors, and anyone interested. The maps are considered as the gold-standard in risk assessments by ECDC and EFSA, commonly used by researchers, and recognised by national health authorities as useful tools to develop national surveillance strategies. VectorNet is one of the most prominent examples of synergy achieved at the EU level.