Globalization and infectious diseases: a review of the linkages

Globalization is driven and constrained by a number of forces: economic processes, technological developments, political influences, cultural and value systems, and social and natural environmental factors. There is much to be understood about how the wide-ranging changes are impacting on infectious diseases; this publication reviews the existing evidence about the links between globalization and infectious diseases in terms of changes in disease distribution, transmission rate and, in some cases, management of disease.