Mexico has quite a bit of TB, especially in the crowded Barrios on the outskirts of Mexico City, where there were many deaths. I wonder if their death rate had anything to do with this, since TB sufferers would be adversely affected by influenza.?
maplandia.com
The term "tropics" refers to the region of the earth lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The warm climate and general socioeconomic status in tropical countries provide an ideal environment for pathogenic organisms, their vectors, and intermediate hosts to flourish. Tropical pulmonary infections are the leading cause of infection-attributable morbidity and mortality. These deaths are potentially preventable if appropriate clinical and laboratory tools are in place to facilitate early detection of the pulmonary infections, identification of the pathogen involved, and institution of appropriate therapy. The tools currently available for the diagnosis of acute, lower respiratory tract infections in tropical countries have low sensitivity and are, in any case, grossly underutilized. Consequently, there is a great shortage of the data necessary for implementing potentially effective interventions.
In addition, international travel and changing immigration patterns have made tropical diseases part of the scope of medicine throughout the world.
Each year, millions of travelers visit tropical countries and many spend time in the areas where they are at risk for infectious diseases.
Today it is essential for the practicing physician to be aware of the common tropical lung diseases. In particular, when evaluating pulmonary infections in a returned traveler, a thorough understanding of common organisms, their epidemiology, and their modes of presentation is required.
Although tuberculosis and malaria are the most common infectious diseases prevalent in tropics, this review of the common tropical pulmonary disorders is necessarily selective, primarily focusing on parasitic diseases (including protozoa; worms such as nematodes, cestodes, trematodes, and pentastomes) affecting the lung.
EC<:-} |
