Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment 7
Here is one way that germs spread disease:
1. A man has
diarrhea
outside.
2. A pig eats
the man’s
feces.
3. A child plays
with the pig
and gets feces
on his hands.
4. The child starts to
cry and his mother
comforts him. He wipes
his hands on her skirt.
5. The mother cooks for
the family. She uses her
soiled skirt to keep from
burning her hands. The
feces from her skirt gets
on her hands. She serves
the food.
6. The family
eats the food.
7. Later, the whole
family has diarrhea.
What could have prevented the family’s illness?
The spread of illness could have been prevented:
• if the man had used a toilet.
• if the pig was kept in a
fenced area.
• if the child had washed his
hands, rather than used
his mother’s skirt.
• if the mother had not
touched her soiled
skirt and then touched
the food.
• if the mother had
washed her hands
with soap and water.