[When the daily chronicles coincide with the most "hard" epidemiology: the case of migrants to Europe].
The migration from Africa to Europe has become one of the most dramatic situations of the violation of fundamental rights of the first decade of the new millennium.


METHODS
As the official source of epidemiology do not recognize the data of peoples who die and/or disappear while trying to reach European borders, only "informal" sources can be used to trace the fate of this populations. A Mediterranean Observatory called Fortress Europe (http://fortresseurope. blogspot.com) has emerged over the last several years as a reference documentation centre for this controversial areas.


RESULTS
The tables which summarize some of the most striking data on mortality and disappearances are presented and commented as examples of how real life epidemiology cannot be considered a specific or exclusive medical discipline.


CONCLUSIONS
Human rights must increasingly be considered one of the key measures and indicators of the joint priorities of societal and health care systems.
Baccile
Gianni
G
Laboratorio Epidemiologia di Cittadinanzo, Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, S. Maria Imbaro, Chieti.
Valerio
Marta
M
Tognoni
Gianni
G
D000349:Africa; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004813:Epidemiology; D005060:Europe; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D009026:Mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*