Although some bacteriological illnesses have not been overcome, their place has been taken by "all kinds of illnesses introduced by the spread of chemicals and materials with urbanization and industrialization," notes Lan Chung-fu, director of the Institute of Public Health of the Yangming Hospital. This is the greatest threat from modern illnesses.
雖然尚有一些因微生物和細菌引起的生物性疾病未能克服，但單一細菌引起的急病大部分都已在疫苗、抗生素控制之下。代傳統性疾病而起的健康大敵，是隨著工業化、都市化腳步，「化學、物理物質普遍介入各種疾病」，陽明醫學院公共衛生研究所所長藍忠孚指出，這是現代疾病的最大隱憂。