Maintenance of personal and public hygiene



Maintenance of personal and public hygiene is very important for prevention and control of many infectious diseases. 

  • Measures for personal hygiene include keeping the body clean; consumption of clean drinking water, food, vegetables, fruits, etc. 
  • Public hygiene includes proper disposal of waste and excreta; periodic cleaning and disinfection of water reservoirs, pools, cesspools and tanks and observing standard practices of hygiene in public catering. 
  • These measures are particularly essential where the infectious agents are transmitted through food and water such as typhoid, amoebiasis and ascariasis.
  • In cases of air-borne diseases such as pneumonia and common cold, in addition to the above measures, close contact with the infected persons or their belongings should be avoided. 
  • For diseases such as malaria and filariasis that are transmitted through insect vectors, the most important measure is to control or eliminate the vectors and their breeding places. 
  • This can be achieved by avoiding stagnation of water in and around residential areas, regular cleaning of household coolers, use of mosquito nets, introducing fishes like Gambusia in ponds that feed on mosquito larvae, spraying of insecticides in ditches, drainage areas and swamps, etc. 
  • In addition, doors and windows should be provided with wire mesh to prevent the entry of mosquitoes. 
  • Such precautions have become all the more important especially in the light of recent widespread incidences of the vector-borne (Aedes mosquitoes) diseases like dengue and chikungunya in many parts of India. 
  • The advancements made in biological science have armed us to effectively deal with many infectious diseases. 
  • The use of vaccines and immunisation programmes have enabled us to completely eradicate a deadly disease like smallpox. 
  • A large number of other infectious diseases like polio, diphtheria, pneumonia and tetanus have been controlled to a large extent by the use of vaccines.
  • Biotechnology is at the verge of making available newer and safer vaccines. 
  • Discovery of antibiotics and various other drugs has also enabled us to effectively treat infectious diseases.

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