Press Release

What Matters To You, Matters To Us: Healthy Environments

The following article is part of a series in celebration of Public Health Week April 2-8, 2001. Please join us in celebrating this national event by learning more about what public health is and what your health department does for you community. 

Healthy Environment 

Ensuring a healthy and safe environment is one way public health contributes to a quality living space for our families, our neighbors, and future generations. Monitoring the water, food and sewage systems of our community are just a few of the responsibilities of environmental health. Public health has focused on environmental issues that decrease the spread of infectious disease and increase life expectancy.

In the early 1900’s, the leading causes of death were pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea and enteritis. As more and more people moved to the city and lived in overcrowded housing, public water supplies and waste disposal systems were non-existent or became inadequate, thus fueling the outbreaks of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and influenza.

These causes of death have been greatly reduced by public health’s efforts to improve sanitation and hygiene. These efforts included standards for food safety, water treatment, sewage disposal, chlorination of water, and animal, pest and mosquito control.