| A survey was conducted to characterize calf management and hygiene practices adopted by dairy farmers at Chittagong, in Bangladesh. A total of 210 dairy farms located in 3 geographically distinct regions in Chittagong division, namely coastal, hilly and plain area, were surveyed. Calf management and hygiene practice related data was collected through a standard questionnaire and all sampled f...

In the final article in a four-part PLoS Medicine series on water and sanitation, Sandy Cairncross and colleagues outline what needs to be done to make significant progress in providing more and better hygiene, sanitation, and water for all.

This single-blind, randomized, crossover study aimed at assessing the long-term fluoride concentrations in saliva and in dental biofilm after different home-use fluoride treatments. The study volunteers (n = 38) were residents of an area with fluoridated drinking water. They were administered four treatments, each of which lasted for one week: twice-daily placebo dentifrice, twice-daily fluorid...

Safe water storage and hand hygiene have been shown to reduce fecal contamination and improve health in experimental settings; however, triggering and sustaining such behaviors is challenging. This study investigates the extent to which personalized information about Escherichia coli contamination of stored water and hands influenced knowledge, reported behaviors, and subsequent contamination l...

Hand hygiene has achieved the reputation of being a convenient means of preventing communicable diseases. Although causal links between hand hygiene and rates of infectious disease have also been established earlier, studies focusing on hand hygiene among university-going students are not adequate in number. This study evaluated handwashing knowledge, practice, and other related factors among t...

BACKGROUND Information on the part that poor food-hygiene practices play a role in the development of diarrhea in low socioeconomic urban communities is lacking. This study was therefore aimed at assessing the contribution of food-hygiene practice to the prevalence of diarrhea among Indonesian children. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 274 randomly selected children aged 12...

BACKGROUND Although petting zoos are common at public events and allow the public to interact with animals, there has been minimal evaluation of practices at petting zoos. METHODS Unannounced observation was performed at 36 petting zoos in Ontario, Canada. Observers recorded information, including physical layout, animal species, animal health, types of animal contact permitted, animal source...

Executive summary ii 1 Introduction by Rolien Sasse, Director of Simavi 6 2 Extent of the problem 8 Reduction in maternal deaths 8 Direct causes of death 9 3 Significance of water; sanitation and hygiene for health 10 4 WASH in relation to maternal health 12 During pregnancy 12 Birth: Hygiene affects maternal health 13 After the birth 14 5 WASH and neonatal health 16 6 The mother: knowledge and...

Presented here are the four preliminary conclusions in the assessment of health and hygiene in developing countries: (a) child mortality, and disease burden associated with hygiene, water and sanitation in the developing and the developed regions of the world, has declined substantially in the past two decades, but substantial inter-regional and cross-country differences persist; (b) while chil...

Hand hygiene is the most important measure for the prevention of nosocomial infection. We describe the different products available for hygiene and antisepsis of the hands and the use of these products in daily practice. Hand hygiene products such as soaps and detergents are a cause of irritant dermatitis in health professionals. This irritation is one of the principal factors affecting their u...