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Martin E. Plaut, MD
State University of New York Buffalo

JAMA. 1996;276(3):197.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—More than 200 articles in 36 journals published in 21 countries¹ sound the theme of global emerging or resurgent microbial threats. Yet the Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association (AMA)² points out that the conclusion that infectious diseases pose historically great threats to the general US population "is far from the truth." How far can be seen in recent data on selected notifiable infectious diseases. The Table shows total reported cases of 16 diseases in 1993³ and 1994⁴ and the latest cumulative case numbers for 1995.⁵

In contrast to public concerns, reported cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), gonorrhea, hepatitis B, mumps, pertussis, syphilis, and tuberculosis each declined by 15% or more in 2 years (pending late returns for 1995). Some of these diseases are underreported year after year, but analysis is further confounded by delays in publishing . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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