The position is a complex one, but there are solutions. People just need to pay more attention to hygiene-related problems. Public awareness could be heightened by effective information and education about hygiene basics.

Awareness of the different sorts of everyday hygiene and associated risks:
Four main topics; presenting everyday, common-sense hygiene for all.

Personal Hygiene

The cornerstone of hygiene. The body is the source and entry point of many illnesses. Appropriate personal hygiene can prevent all sorts of diseases.

Hygiene at Home

Home hygiene is particularly important in countries where people may spend more than three quarters of their time at home.

Hygiene with Pets

Instilling hygiene rules and basics
These should rapidly become second nature and act as a safeguard for the health of the population at large.Setting an example, repetition and education are most important in successfully applying personal, domestic, food or pet hygiene. Likewise, vaccination is a invaluable preventive measure, and should be undertaken at the appropriate time, and booster schedule adhered to.

Vaccination
Vaccination, discovered in 1796 by Jenner and recreated in the laboratory by Louis Pasteur in 1879, revolutionized around the process of disease control. The concept is to inoculate a host, using a dead or non virulent strain of microbe, to obtain an immune reaction without running the risk of developing the disease. Substances secreted allow the body to fight off diseases and eventually become immunized.
Booster injections restore specific immunity when necessary. For children certain vaccines are, in certain countries, strongly recommended or even mandatory. This is the case, in many countries, for BCG against tuberculosis, and for vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis. Also strongly recommended is vaccination against whooping-cough, rubella, mumps and measles, as well as hepatitis B on medical advice. These diseases can have devastating consequences, and yet can be prevented. Doctors can draw up a vaccination programme suited to individual cases.

Good hygiene for everyone
The next stage consists of integrating the different aspects of hygiene into a process aimed at protecting society as a whole. This will ensure a much quicker and more effective way of getting across the various health messages about hygiene and ensure optimum results. Public awareness is dependent on both adult education and targeted teaching as early as primary school, so that hygiene basics become part of common knowledge. In this respect, the vital role played by teachers should not be underestimated.