Respiratory-tract infections in the tropics.

Acute respiratory infections are the single most common infective cause of death worldwide. This is also the case in the tropics, where they are a major cause of death in children under five. Bacterial pneumonia is particularly common in children in the tropics, and is more often lethal. Pulmonary tuberculosis is the single most common fatal infection and is more prevalent in many parts of the tropics due to a combination of endemic HIV infection and widespread poverty. A lack of diagnostic tests, limited access to effective treatment and some traditional healing practices exacerbate the impact of respiratory infection in tropical communities. The rapid urbanisation of populations in the tropics has increased the risk of transmitting respiratory pathogens. A combination of poverty and overcrowding in the periurban zones of rapidly expanding tropical cities promotes the epidemic spread of acute respiratory infection.