Changes in the epidemiological pattern of disease in the Maltese islands

Abstract

Rudolph Virchow, the German Pathologist who is considered the father of medicine, in the middle of the last century, wrote that 'Medicine is a social science and that politics is nothing less but medicine on a large scale'. In fact the incidence and pattern of disease in any community reflect not only the standard of medical care but also, and possibly to a greater extent, the socio-economic conditions of the country. In Malta, there are few accurate records of the incidence of diseases 50 years ago let alone a century ago.