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Environmental health means preventing environmentally-related health risks.
According to the World Health Organisation, the deterioration of the environment is the reason for one quarter of the illnesses in the world.
Poor quality of water causes diarrhoea; responsible for the deaths of 1.8 million people each year, 1.6 million of these are children under 5.
(Source: World Health Organization)
In Latin America and in the Caribbean, 86% of the urban water used and in Asia 65% of all the water used is dumped into rivers, lakes or the sea without having been previously treated; and, we know that one gramme of excrement dumped in the water could contain 10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria, 1,000 parasites' cysts and 100 intestinal worm eggs and is also the source of numerous diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, dracunculiasis, typhoid and intestinal worms.
(Source: World Health Organization)
60% of acute respiratory illnesses (pneumonia) are due to air pollution.
In Europe, 2% of infant mortality of children under 4 years old is due to this.
(Source: "Burden of disease attributable to selected environmental factors and injury among children and adolescents in Europe", F. Valent, The Lancet, volume 363, June19/04 - p.2032-2039)
In addition, chronic respiratory illnesses such as asthma are constantly becoming more widespread.
Environmental health means preventing environmentally-related health risks.
Nowadays, environmental health plays a leading role in public health.
