Water For The World   Overview of Disease   Technical Note No. DIS. G

The technical notes on disease are divided into two series as shown on Table 1: DIS. 1 - Water Supply, Sanitation and Disease, and DIS. 2 Specific Diseases. Within the DIS. 1 series, the technical notes are organized according to methods (M) and planning (P). The DIS. 2 series contains only methods (M) technical notes. All technical notes have both a title and a number within each category indicating where they fit on Table 1. For example, DIS.1. P, "Planning Disease Control Programs," is part of the Water Supply, Sanitation and Disease series (1) and discusses planning (P). See "Overview of Water and Sanitation Systems Development," HR.G, for a full discussion of the organization of the technical notes and a list of all of them. The disease technical notes are listed at the end of this note.

Table 1. Organization of Disease Technical Notes

The technical notes on disease are intended only to provide general information about the relationship between water supply, sanitation and disease and about some of the water- and sanitation-related diseases. They are not intended to describe how to treat diseases or how to go about establishing comprehensive disease control programs. Many water- and sanitation-related diseases can best be controlled by developing safe, accessible water supplies and sanitation facilities as described in the technical notes on rural water supply and sanitation. Others require regional or countrywide control programs involving chemical spraying, vaccinations, and other complex undertakings. These technical notes on disease will give the reader a general understanding of some diseases and how they relate to water supply and sanitation. If a disease is a problem in an area, assistance should be sought from health workers, doctors, or other people with medical training.

Sources of Further Information

The books listed below will be useful to those interested in further reading on the subject of water supply, sanitation and disease. Some of them are very helpful in providing on-the spot health care when no trained health professional is available.

Control of Communicable Disease in Man, edited by Abram S. Benenson, 1981. The American Public Health Association, 1015 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005 U.S.A.

Guide to Simple Sanitary Measures for the Control of Enteric Diseases, S. Rajagopalan and M. A. Shiffman, 1974. World Health Organization, Av. Appia, 1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland

The Primary Health Worker: Working Guide, Guidelines for Training, Guidelines for Adaptation, 1977. World Health Organization, Av. Appia, 1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland

Water and Human Health, F. Eugene McJunkin, 1982. Development Information Center; U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C. 20523 U.S.A.

Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook, David Werner, 1980. The Hesperian Foundation, P.O. Box 1692, Palo Alto, California 94302 U.S.A. or TALC (Teaching Aids at Low Cost), Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WCIN 1EH England. (Book available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Swahili. Swahili version only available from Rotary Club of Dar Es Salaam, P.O. Box 1533, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)

List of Technical Notes

    The following is a list of all the technical notes on disease.