Epidemics and outbreaks of peripheral nervous system disorders: I. infectious and immune-mediated causes.

The history of mankind is marked by numerous epidemics, some of which involved diseases of the peripheral nervous system, either infectious or otherwise. We describe here the three main infectious causes of epidemics that affect the peripheral nervous system: leprosy, poliomyelitis and diphtheria. We then discuss the main epidemics of immune-mediated origin.

Knowledge and management of disabling conditions in South Asian histories: implications for leprosy futures.

Elimination of leprosy as a public health problem appears feasible in South Asia in the present decade through multi-drug therapy, but management of disability in cured leprosy patients will continue through the 21st century, probably with some ongoing stigma. This paper provides new perspectives on leprosy-related disabilities by reviewing the historical careers of four disabling conditions sharing some features with leprosy: lathyrism, iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), cataract and poliomyelitis. All are targeted for eradication or serious reduction using affordable surgery or preventive measures, yet they have proved unexpectedly resilient. Technical solutions alone bring only partial success. There is a need also for community-based delivery methods, individual and family self-help, and some redeployment of professional expertise.

International task force for disease eradication

The eradication of smallpox from the world in 1977 proved the feasibility of infectious disease eradication. The International Task Force for Disease Eradication (ITFDE) is assessing the potential for global eradication of other infectious diseases. This report summarizes the ITFDE's findings on the potential to eradicate eight diseases based on draft versions of criteria under development (AU)

[Tourism and risk of infection (author's transl)]. / Tourismus und Infektionsrisiko

Great streams of tourists flow every year from the Federal Republic to southern countries. The danger of infection with serious tropical diseases such as smallpox, cholera or leprosy is fairly small, statistically speaking. Even exotic parasitoses merit only individual medical interest in the majority of cases. Of greater importance are the cosmopolitan infectious diseases such as typhoid fever, paratyphoid, salmonella enteritis, poliomyelitis, viral hepatitides which are transmitted orally and altogether are imported in no small numbers. The alteration of the mode of living caused by the holiday and frequently a false confidence in the hygienic conditions favor the infection. Almost independent of the behavior of the tourists are the infections produced by insect bites, such as malaria or the leishmaniases, which often end fatally for lack of recognition. Here, a better enlightment of the travelers, the use of prophylactic agents and improvement of diagnosis must be instituted.