Editorial

The importance of prevention in Medicine is growing for several reasons, in all world countries and in a lot of fields. Since the 1960's, the World Health Organization has recommended achieving the goal of maintaining the psycho-physical health of the population, supporting the benefits of a good prevention, rather than curing illnesses that have already appeared.

The progress of scientific research in Medicine in recent decades has been remarkable: many disabling diseases of the past can now be contrasted with prevention, through knowledge of risk factors, or therapies. Just think of metabolic diseases or tumours for example.

Both general population and workers of all contexts must be protected from risk factors still present and active in determinism of a lot of diseases.

Physical, chemical, biological and psychological agents can determinate a lot of illnesses, charged by the various organs, which can be prevented by primary and secondary prevention.

In recent times, especially in Europe, we are witnessing migrations of populations from their own country, due to wars and conflicts, and also many young people move to other nations to find a stable job.

Even climate change, with a rise in temperature, is changing the external environment, with a consequent change in the microbiological species present in the territories.

All this is creating new microbiological conditions, in fact, we observe the re-emergence of infective diseases, before disappearing in some geographical contexts.

In Europe there are new cases of tropical diseases, also among antropozoonosis.

It is important, in all medical fields, to analyze geographical, economical, sociological and environmental aspects, in order to understand the present and above all to anticipate the future, carrying out every strategy useful to limit health damages in general population and in exposed workers.

Surely, some work tasks are more exposed than others to be infected: we recall it in this regard all professions of health care (medical doctors, surgeons, veterinarians, dentists, nursing, etc.), policemen, garbage collectors, cleaners, forestry and agricultural workers and so on. For all these workers the attention of Medicine and in particular of Occupational Medicine and Hygiene must be strict, carrying out first of all primary prevention and protecting the most fragile workers with secondary prevention interventions.

It is also necessary that medical prevention themes are discussed in the scientific sphere: often happens that the population is misled by discussions that originate in other contexts. The case of rejection of vaccines against disabling diseases is a clear example of what has been said, coming from bad information suggested by non-titled people to discuss them.

It is with this intent that we can say that it is only with the scientific culture, promoted and shared by eminent scholars, that progress in the fight against diseases, and therefore prevention, can go on.

Surely the collaboration between specialists in various fields of medical science will increase our knowledge.

For this reason, also our newly born journal can be a valuable tool for sharing health promotion in various fields of health care.