title: Infectious diseases in the 21st century.
abstract: Infecto-contagious diseases in the twenty-first century with respect to precedent will see themselves deprived of smallpox, dracunculiasis and very probably of paralyzing poliomyelitis. Vaccination-preventable diseases, such as measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, rabies, some forms of meningitis, yellow fever and episodes of disseminated tuberculosis will greatly diminish in their rates of morbi-lethality; the elimination of some, and the eradication of measles, are expected. Other diseases such as diarrhea (including cholera), geo-helminthiasis, some severe respiratory tract infections and the majority of vector-transmitted infectious diseases will decrease due to improvements in potable water services, drainage, sanitary food control, living quarters, and individual and community anti-vector action. Leprosy, onchocerciasis and several parasitoses will be controlled by the available antimicrobial drugs. Infectious diseases will continue to be an important health problem due to: Reduction in the immunocompetence resulting from the aging of the population, chemotherapies necessary for neoplasms, and autoimmune pathology and the survival of persons with primary immunodeficiencies; lifestyles prone to infectious pathology, such as mega-city urbanization, children in day care centers, industrialized foods, intravenous drug addiction, sexual liberation, global commerce, and tourism; antibiotic-multiresistant microbial flora; environmental disturbances as a result of global warming, deforestation, the settling of virgin areas, dams, the large-scale use of pesticides, fertilizers and antimicrobials, and natural/social disasters generators of poverty, violence and deprivation will result in emergence or re-emergence of infectious diseases already controlled in the past.
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, México, D.F., México.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kumate
mesh_terms: D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D019550:Environmental Medicine; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008019:Life Style; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014611:Vaccination