Hygiene

Hygiene is the science and practice of preserving health and preventing disease through cleanliness and other protective measures. It includes actions that reduce exposure to infectious agents and other health hazards.

Handwashing: Cleaning hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based product to remove or inactivate contaminants. It interrupts transmission of pathogens through contaminated hands.
Infectious disease transmission: The movement of infectious agents between hosts or from environmental sources to hosts. Hygiene measures target the routes that carry pathogens between people and places.
Public health: The organized effort to protect and improve the health of populations. Hygiene is one set of preventive practices within population health.
Sanitation: Systems for safely managing human waste and maintaining hygienic environmental conditions. Sanitation extends hygiene from individual practices to shared infrastructure.
Cleanliness: The state of being free from dirt, marks, or unwanted material. Visible cleanliness does not necessarily mean that disease risks have been controlled.
Food safety: Practices and regulations that prevent food from causing illness or injury. Safe storage, preparation, and handling extend hygiene to the food supply.
Fomite: An inanimate object that can carry infectious agents and contribute to their transmission. Cleaning shared surfaces reduces contamination that could reach hands or faces.
Epidemiology: The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related conditions in populations. Epidemiological evidence identifies hazards and tests whether hygiene measures reduce disease.
Cholera: An acute diarrheal disease caused by infection with toxigenic Vibrio cholerae. Cholera outbreaks exposed the consequences of contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.
Medical treatment: Interventions intended to manage, cure, or relieve an existing health condition. Hygiene primarily prevents illness, whereas treatment addresses illness after it occurs.

Linked from 10 pages