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Water and sanitation related diseases

Laurence Gill explores some of the most common water and sanitation related diseases.

As we saw in the video, there are four different categories of diseases related to poor sanitation and water supply.

  • Waterborne diseases (e.g. cholera and typhoid)
  • Water-washed diseases (e.g. trachoma, typhus, and ascariasis)
  • Water-based diseases (e.g. bilharzia)
  • Water related vector diseases (e.g. dengue fever and yellow fever)

We will look at preventative measures used to fight these diseases, such as the following:

  • Protecting water sources from dangerous organisms
  • Developing effective sanitation systems
  • Promoting hygiene education

Thinking about the country you live in:

  • Are water based diseases common in your country?
  • Why/why not?
  • Think about any changes in your country over time that helped protect against these types of diseases.
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