Authors
Dr. Suma T K, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, T. D. Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
Abstract
Introduction: Certain diseases are more common in tropics probably because tropical climates are more conducive to these diseases and also because areas of poverty and primitive sanitation conditions are more common in the tropics. Tropical infections cause significant morbidity and mortality especially in less developed regions of the world. Re-emerging infectious diseases are defined as those that are ‘due to the reappearance of, and an increase in the number of infections from a disease, which is known, but which had formerly caused so few infections that it had no longer been considered a public health problem’.Discussion: For many emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, changes in the pathogen and host environment play the primary role. Even minor ecological changes may significantly alter transmission and exposure patterns leading to sudden proliferation of disease. The recent epidemics of Chikungunya fever and the return of Dengue fever in India clearly shows the emergence of disease due to environmental changes and increased survival capability of mosquitoes. This article describes briefly salient points about Chikungunya fever and Dengue fever.Keywords: Tropical infections, Dengue fever, Chikungunya fever.