Controlling and preventing disease: The role of water and environmental sanitation interventions

Improving health is one of the main goals of water and environmental sanitation (WES) interventions. Despite this, many aid and development workers may have only a limited knowledge of the infections they try to prevent. Although the relevant information does exist, it is often scattered in specialised literature and rarely finds its way into the field. This manual addresses this problem by presenting information on these infections in relation to the interventions that fieldworkers typically control – i.e: water supply, sanitation, drainage, solid waste management, and vector control. Following introductory chapters on these subjects, the manual comprises a series of annexes including a comprehensive listing of diseases related to WES giving details of the pathogen, distribution, symptoms, severity, incubation period, duration, communicability, the transmission cycle and other critical information – not least preventative measures and their potential effect. Produced primarily for non-medical aid and development workers, anyone working in WES, or in the prevention of infections related to WES, will find this book invaluable.