El saneamiento del medio en la lucha contra el cólera

Abstract

Contaminated water is an important vehicle for the rapid spread of a cholera epidemic; insanitary personal and food habits of the population are largely responsible for the persistence and intensification of transmission when the epidemic appears

There is no doubt that the first preocupation of health authorities in countries at risk of a cholera epidemic should be the preservation of the good quality of water delivered by the public supply system, through constant vigilance over the operation and maintenance of all its components, for the water source to the most remote house connected with the distribution network. In fact, the responsibility of the health agency should extend to making safe the water used by that portion of the population not served by the public system when they are threatened by cholera

The most effective protection consists of eliminating as far as possible all sources of contamination that may endanger the safety of public and private water systems. Human faeces are the main source of contamination and cholera outbreaks are typically associated with situations in which two factors are present: the water supply is unsafe or exposed to a high risk of contamination, an defecation habits and excreta disposal installations are such that they favor, rather than control, the spread of contamination(AU)