Germs are the cause of more than half of all illnesses and deaths among young children, which get into the child's mouth via food and water. In communities without latrines, without safe drink water, and without safe refuse disposal, it is very difficult for families to prevent the spread of germs. It is, therefore, also vital for the government to support communities by providing safe drinking water and refuse disposal facilities.
Washing hands with soap and water removes germs from the hands. This help to stop germs from getting onto food or into the mouth.
It is especially important to wash hands after defecating, before handling food, and after cleaning the bottom of a baby or child who has just defecated. It is also important to wash hands after handling animals and after preparing raw foods.
Children often put their hands into their mouth. So it is important to wash a child's hands often, especially before giving food.
A child's face should be washed at least once every day especially after eating. This help to keep files away from the face and to prevent eye infections Soap is helpful for washing, but not absolutely essential.
The single most important action that families can take to prevent the spread of germs is to dispose of faeces safely. Many illnesses, especially diarrhoea, come from the germs found in human faeces. People can swallow these germs if they get into water, onto food, on the hands, or on utensils used for preparing food.
Prevention:
Use latrines, if it is not possible to use a latrine, adults and children should defecate well away from houses, paths, water suppliers, and anywhere that children play.
Latrine should be cleaned regularly and kept covered. The faeces of animals should be kept away from homes and water sources.
Families who have a plentiful supply of safe piped water, and know how to use it, have fewer illnesses. Whereas, families without a safe piped water supply can reduce illnesses if they protect their water supply from germs by:
- Keeping faeces and waste water (especially from latrines) well away from any water used for cooking, drinking, bathing or washing.
- Keeping bucket, ropes and jars used to collect and store water as clean a possible (for example by hanging up buckets rather than putting them on the ground)
- Keeping animals away from drinking water.
Families can keep water clean in the home by:
- Storing drinking water in a clean, covered container.
- Taking water out of the container with a clean ladle or cup.
Not allow anyone to put their hands into the container or to drink directly from it.
Keeping animals out of the house.
Safe drinking water:
Even if water is clear, it may not be free from germs. The safest drinking water is from a piped supply. Water from other sources is more likely to contain germs.
Boiling water kills germs. So, if possible, water drawn from sources such as ponds, streams, springs, wells, tanks, or public standpipes should be brought to boil and cooled before drinking. It is especially important to boil and cool the water that is given to babies and young children; they have less resistance to germs than adults.
If boiling or disinfecting water is not possible, it can be made safer by using sunlight. Choose containers made of colourless or light blue glass or plastic. You must be able to see through them. Remove all labels, fill with the cleanest water available, and cover the containers to keep out dirt and insects. Put them in an open space where the sun can shine on them all day. Spread them out so that they do not shade each other. Leave the containers in the sunlight for at least a day. The longer the containers are in sunlight, the greater the chance that the water will be safe. This method of making water safe does not work on cloudy days.
Raw food is dangerous: It should be washed or cooked as early as possible. Cooked food should be eaten straight away not left to stand. Warmed-up food should be thoroughly reheated.
Cooking kills germs, food should be cooked right away especially meat and poultry. Cooked food should be eaten as soon as possible after cooking so it does not have time to collect germs.
If food has to be kept for more than five hours, it should either be kept hot (above 60c) or kept cooled (below 10c). If cooked food is saved, it should be thoroughly reheated before being used.
Raw food, especially poultry, usually contains germs. Cooked food can be contaminated by even the slightest contact with raw food. So raw and cooked foods should always be kept away from each other. Knives, chopping boards, and food-preparing surfaces should always be cleaned after preparing raw food.
If possible, food prepared for infants should be freshly made and not stored. Pasteurized or freshly boiled milk is safer than raw cow's milk.
Germs and food can enter the body and cause illness. But food can be kept safe by keeping food-preparing surfaces clean. Germs grow in spots of dirt or food. Keeping food clean and covered and away from files, rats, mice, dogs, and other animals. Sealed containers are the best.
Cloths for cleaning dishes or pans should be changed every day if possible and boiled before being used again. Germs can be spread by flies, which like to breed in refuse such as food scraps and peeling from fruit and vegetables. Every family should have a special pit where household refuse is buried or burned every day.