The changing disease-scape in the third epidemiological transition.
The epidemiological transition model describes the changing relationship between humans and their diseases. The first transition occurred with the shift to agriculture about 10,000 YBP, resulting in a pattern of infectious and nutritional diseases still evident today. In the last two centuries, some populations have undergone a second transition, characterized by a decline in infectious disease and rise in degenerative disease. We are now in the throes of a third epidemiological transition, in which a resurgence of familiar infections is accompanied by an array of novel diseases, all of which have the potential to spread rapidly due to globalization.
Harper
Kristin
K
Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholar Program, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. kh2383@columbia.edu
Armelagos
George
G
D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans