AI Article Synopsis
- The study assesses the effectiveness of the rural health improvement scheme in Sarawak, Malaysia, specifically in reducing waterborne diseases like dysentery and enteric fever from 1963 to 2002.
- Water supply interventions significantly decreased dysentery by over 200 times and enteric fever by 60 times, although cholera remained endemic and variations in hepatitis reporting hindered trend analysis.
- The study highlights that sanitation measures were less effective, emphasizing the need for targeted catchment management interventions to improve water quality and protect public health.
Article Abstract
This study evaluates and discusses the impact of the rural health improvement scheme in reducing the incidence of dysentery, enteric fever, cholera and viral hepatitis in Sarawak, Malaysia, using data compiled from state and federal health department reports. This study suggests that from 1963 to 2002, water supply intervention contributed to a more than 200-fold decrease in dysentery and a 60-fold decrease in enteric fever. Variations in reporting of viral hepatitis during that period make it difficult to detect a trend. Cholera was still endemic in 2002. Cholera and dysentery outbreaks, occurring when rural populations relied on contaminated rivers for their water supply, suggested that sanitation intervention was not as effective in reducing waterborne diseases. Recommendations are made for successive one-component interventions focusing on catchment management to ensure protection of current and alternative water supplies.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trstmh.2005.11.018 | DOI Listing |
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