Temporal trends in the incidence and demographics of cancers, communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases in Saudi Arabia over the last decade

Herzallah, Hatem K.; Antonisamy, Belavendra R.; Shafee, Mohammed H.; Al-Otaibi, Sultan T.

Prevention and management of emerging, re-emerging, and stable infectious diseases is a continuous process. These diseases can be successfully monitored and controlled by adopting effective supervision, research, and drug development strategies and by introducing counter measures such as surveillance, diagnosis, and effective affordable drugs and vaccines. Saudi Arabia has witnessed a steady decrease in the incidence of hepatitis B, measles, chickenpox, and brucellosis. In 1989-1990, Saudi Arabia introduced a highly effective hepatitis B vaccination program in schools, through which all Saudi Arabian individuals aged ≤34 years (as of 2017) were vaccinated at birth or at school. This has steadily decreased the incidence of hepatitis B in Saudi Arabia. Except for an unknown increase in the incidence of measles, a vaccine-preventable infectious disease, in 2007, there has been a decrease in the incidence of other communicable diseases in Saudi Arabia. Although the incidence of chickenpox was high before 2008, introduction of a varicella zoster vaccination program in 2008 drastically decreased the incidence of this viral infection to a minimal level, indicating a successful control of this virus in Saudi Arabia. The incidence of brucellosis has significantly decreased over the last decade; however, its incidence is noticeably high in Saudi Arabia compared with that in developed countries. Therefore, it is important to implement effective nationwide measures for controlling brucellosis. In contrast to the decreased incidence of major preventable infectious diseases, the incidence of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease, has increased in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian tourists travelling to tropical destinations and infected immigrants from dengue fever endemic regions may have increased the dissemination of this contagious infection. Moreover, unavailability of effective vaccines against dengue fever hinders the nationwide measures for controlling this infection.