Global Challenges of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

As we have seen in the last chapter, infectious and parasitic diseases are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Approximately 26% of global deaths and 26% of global burden of disease were attributed to infectious diseases in 2001 (Lopez et al. 2006; see Chapter 1). One in two deaths that are mostly preventable occurs in developing countries (Kim-Farley 2004; Folch et al. 2003). Looking to the remaining 21st century, we could imagine a decline in major infectious diseases like malaria and AIDS as a result of an adoption of effective prevention strategies and treatments or, like in the case of hepatitis B, as a consequence of worldwide vaccination programs in children. In addition, new vaccines, new treatment technologies, as well as an improvement in infrastructures can contribute to win the “battle against infectious diseases.” However, for these prospects not to be doomed to fail, measures will have to be integrated much more than they are now into international health and public health policies, and there needs to be a multiand interdisciplinary approach, a stronger facilitation of the participation of affected populations, and – above all – a committed and sustainable effort of all stakeholders. In this context, infectious disease public health plays the role of a moderator, and infectious disease epidemiology has the role of providing high-quality data and indicators for monitoring and surveillance as a basis for concerted and efficient public health actions.