Despite much progress in their control, infectious diseases remain a global concern. The number of under-five deaths worldwide has declined from 12.7 million in 1990 to 5.9 million in 2015 ( http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs178/en/ ). Globally, approximately half of under-five deaths are due to infectious diseases. Although numbers are substantially lower in industrialized nations including the United States, infectious causes remain among the top 10 causes of childhood mortality and cause significant morbidity ( http://www.kidsdata.org/topic/659/childdeathrate-age-cause ). Moreover, infectious diseases are continually emerging as new pathogens, as more virulent pathogens, and/or in new settings. In the past few years, the World Health Organization has noted the appearance of a Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease, Marburg virus, Lassa fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus diseases, Nipah and Rift Valley fever ( http://www.who.int/medicines/ebola-treatment/WHO-list-of-top-emerging-diseases/en/ ). Over the past year, Zika virus has emerged as a major threat in the Americas, including the United States ( https://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html ).
Thus, there are many reasons it is important for every pediatrician to be familiar with extant and emerging pathogens from across the globe. First, we are a single globe, and health and wellness is our concern worldwide. Second, whether or not the pathogen is currently in the United States, it could easily arrive here—and thrive.
This issue of Pediatric Clinics of North America effectively summarizes a vast literature updating the health care provider on familiar infectious diseases and describing those that are newly recognized, emerging, and/or migrating. The issue is both fascinating and very helpful, written by true leaders in the world of childhood infectious diseases.
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