[History of the infectious disease specialty in Spain]

This paper includes a brief summary of the clinical history of the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in Spain. Firstly, the origins of a specialty arising from the need for specialists to attend to, in a practical and modern form, the different health problems of patients affected by infectious diseases, are described. Secondly, the appearance of AIDS, at the beginning of the 1980's, prompted the creation of specific units dedicated to the care of problems associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the concomitant opportunistic infections arising from the immunodeficiency arising from the HIV infection. Thirdly, in the last decades and even today, nosocomial infections have appeared as an alarming problem, needing the presence of specialist physicians in this field. Finally, emigration and international travel require specialists in infectious diseases with specific expertise in international health, once more highlighting the importance of the specialty of Infectious Diseases.