[Heath history and health challenges in the Union of Comoros in 2012].

Located in the Mozambican Channel in the southwestern Indian Ocean, near Africa, the islands that form the Union of the Comoros present, despite improved health and social progress, epidemiological features still dominated by communicable diseases, primarily malaria, diarrheal diseases, respiratory diseases, and gastrointestinal parasites. The archipelago is the regional gateway to vectorborne diseases, such as malaria and arboviruses, and to cholera. The prevalence of AIDS is 0.025%. The Union is facing a major upsurge in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Natural hazards (cyclones, floods, volcanoes and tsunamis) also threaten these islands.