Nowadays, the life dynamics of the human being are without a doubt very different from those of the preceding generation. In today’s era of globalization, communication in all its forms has grown exponentially. Nevertheless, according to expert opinions, this growth is far from reaching its full potential. One form of communication is the intense mobility of human beings from one corner of the world to another, in a manner so fast and efficient, which allows us to go from one geographical point to another with an ease like none before, with more accessibility to the general population due to its lower costs and shorter travel times.
While human mobility across the world comes with great social, cultural and economic benefits for Man, it also involves risks. The subject of the matter of this first special edition of Medicina Universitaria is one of these risks; we are talking about the disease known as Ebola and its apparently easy dissemination from its origins in Africa to the rest of the world.
This risk increases with the ease of global travel, which we rely on to go from one faraway place to another, making, for example, international and intercontinental flights a daily routine for millions of people.
Many times, people do not travel alone; they do so accompanied by different microscopic pathogen agents which can be found in latitudes far from their place of origin, new and greater “breeding grounds” at the other end of the planet.
In order to keep up with the dynamic generation and dissemination of medical information which has been created around the world on the subject of Ebola, we decided to create, for the first time, an early issue of a medical article contemplated to be published in Medicina Universitaria.
This special issue of our magazine contains internationally accepted information supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated to October 21st, 2014, including the most recently accepted guidelines for contagion prevention, management and experimental treatment of this dreaded disease.
We are convinced that timely and effective access to proper medical information, issued by experts, is the cornerstone which will finally allow us to confront this global health emergency in an efficient and successful manner. However, let us not forget that while Ebola is the current topic, in our communities there are endemics and epidemics, such as dengue and seasonal influenza, which take the lives of hundreds of Mexicans annually, thus we shall not lower our guard against these and other health contingencies.
*Corresponding author:
Subdirección de Educación Continua,
Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León,
Avda. Eduardo Aguirre Pequeño y Avda.
Madero s/n, Col. Mitras Centro,
C.P. 64460 Monterrey, Nuevo León, México.
E-mail address: frcedillo@prodigy.net.mx (F.R. Cedillo Salazar).