DISEASE CONTROL

In the last century, the great majority of contagious diseases have been controlled (in the developed countries) using a number of approaches :

Personal Hygiene eg. hand-washing, bathing, appropriate clothing, washing clothes

Food Preparation eg. cooking, prevention of contamination

Disposal of Wastes eg. garbage, sewage - also prevents growth of vectors

Control of Vectors eg. killing rodents, spraying for mosquitoes, introducing predators (mosquito fish)

Treatment of Surfaces
•   sanitisers - clean surfaces
•   disinfectants - kill most microbes
•   sterilisers - kill all microbes
•   antiseptics - prevents infections on skin surface

Water Treatment eg. chlorination

Pasteurisation - heating milk to 63°C for 30 minutes, followed by cooling - kills most microbes

Public Education - on all of above

Quarantine - prevention of infected individuals from coming into contact with uninfected individuals

Drugs - specifically targeted against pathogens
   ANTIBIOTICS DO NOT WORK AGAINST VIRUSES ONLY BACTERIA
   - problems with resistance

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