Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2. Children in school are restricted in activity and subject to scrutiny for any
signs of illness. Such children would immediately be excluded, and parents
would be urged to seek medical attention.
3. Closing of schools leads to unorganized, unrestricted, and excessive neigh-
borhood play. Symptoms of illness under such circumstances frequently
remain unobserved until greater spread of the infection has occurred.
4. If poliomyelitis occurs or is suspected in a school:
a. Any child affected should immediately be sent home, with advice to the
parents to seek medical aid, and the health authority notified.
b. Classroom contacts should be inspected daily for any signs or symptoms
of illness and excluded if these are found.
Hospitals
1. There is no reason for exclusion of poliomyelitis cases from general hospi-
tals if isolation is exercised; rather, such admissions are necessary because
of the need for adequate medical care of the patient.
2. Patients should be isolated individually or with other cases of poliomyelitis
in wards.
3. Suspect cases should be segregated from known cases until diagnosis is
established.
4. The importance of cases to hospitals in a community where poliomyelitis
is not prevalent has not been demonstrated to affect the incidence of the
disease in the hospital community.
Recreational Facilities
1. Properly operated facilities for recreation should not be closed during out-
breaks of poliomyelitis.
2. Supervised play is usually more conducive to restriction of physical activ-
ities in the face of an outbreak.
3. Playground supervisors should regulate activities so that overexertion and
fatigue are avoided.
WATERBORNE DISEASES
General
Disease agents spread by water and food have in common the capability to
incapacitate large groups of people and sometimes result in serious disability and
death. The World Health Organization estimates that 80 percent of all diseases are
attributable to inadequate water or sanitation and that 50 percent of hospital beds
worldwide were occupied by people afflicted with water-related diseases.
15
Dur-
ing the period 1920 to 2000, there were 1,836 waterborne outbreaks representing
882,592 cases of illness in the United States.
16
The number of deaths recorded for
