[Imported diseases in immigrants: myth and reality].

In recent years, with the growth of immigration from low income countries, in certain health spheres and in civil society itself through the mass media, there has been speculation about the risk to the health of the receptor community brought by immigration. This article attempts to conceptualise the terminology that is used to deal with the diseases of immigrants, to serve as a common denominator in the description and interpretation of the data provided by the medical journals, avoiding the confusions that arise in non-specialised health settings or in those that are remote from this. It aims to reflect on the reality of these diseases, both those that are imported and those that are transmissible, and to clarify the risks for the receptor community and their determinants.