Introduction: There is regulated study and mandatory reporting of epidemiological surveillance of diseases worldwide. However, it is difficult to observe the behavior of conditions especially over time, and especially when it comes to diseases that are addressed by their severity in tertiary care units.
Objective: Describe and analyze the behavior of the major communicable neurological diseases subject to epidemiological surveillance for a period of seven years in the main National Institution of Health that takes in neurological, neurosurgical and psychiatric disorders in Mexico. The main conditions that are handled and reported were acute inflammatory polyneuropathy (Guillain Barre Syndrome) and viral encephalitis, 19.7 and 18.5%, respectively. The condition showing a tendency to decrease was neurocysticercosis, and conditions most strongly associated with mortality were diseases associated to the human immunodeficiency virus and unspecified viral encephalitis. The conditions were more frequent especially in men in the age group 25 to 44 years old. It is necessary to stress the importance of timely reporting of diseases under epidemiological surveillance in Mexico, since knowledge of the behavior of action allows decisions at all levels of care.