This chapter describes the epidemiology, clinical aspects, spread, treatment and prevention of waterborne diseases, namely cholera and typhoid.

Emergency and crises situations are e special circumstances in which maternal and perinatal health programmes are required. Countries that have just gone through a conflict or civil war typically have among the highest maternal and newborn mortality in the world, along with other poor reproductive...

This chapter provides an overview of maternal and perinatal health in developing countries and presents a synopsis of the subsequent chapters in this book. Maternal deaths represent only a fraction of the burden of ill health and disability faced by millions of women and newborns as a consequence...

This chapter describes the incidence of cancer (e.g., breast cancer, prostate cancer, bowel cancer), the viral (hepatitis B virus in liver cancer, human papillomavirus in cervical cancer, and Epstein-Barr virus in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal cancer and Burkitt's lymphoma) and parasitic (...

This chapter briefly describes the classification of infectious diseases into the following groups: water-washed diseases, faecal-oral diseases, foodborne diseases, diseases of soil contact, diseases of water contact, skin infections, respiratory diseases and other airborne transmitted infections,...

This chapter describes the effects of climate change and population movements (e.g., refugees, local migration, and travel) on the occurrence of infectious diseases. The effects of urbanization on health, health service provision, flooding risk, loss of life due to earthquakes and tsunamis, and...

This chapter describes the "force of infection" and endemicity concepts, and discusses the epidemic theory in the investigation of common epidemic source, propagated source epidemics, dynamics of epidemics, population size, and food and water-borne epidemics. The estimation of the magnitude of the...

In this concluding chapter, the role of bacteria and viruses in developing the human species into what it is, immunity and its enhancement against infections, and the role of disease in shaping history are discussed. Some beneficial microorganisms, the discovery and use of antibiotics against...

This chapter discusses how to interrupt transmission of infectious diseases with the various control methods available, including vaccination, environmental control (hygiene, sanitation), vector control (insecticides, repellents, biological control, environmental modification, personal protection), ...

This chapter describes the events in the investigation, control and surveillance of an infectious disease outbreak.