Report
Note: Workshop Summaries contain the opinion of the presenters, but do NOT reflect the conclusions of the IOM. Learn more about the differences between Workshop Summaries and Consensus Reports.
Worldwide, over one billion people lack access to an adequate water supply; more than twice as many lack basic sanitation. Areas without adequate supplies of freshwater and basic sanitation carry the highest burdens of disease which disproportionately impact children under the age of five. The lack of access to and availability of clean water and sanitation has had devastating effects on many aspects of daily life. While poverty has been a major barrier to gaining access to clean drinking water and sanitation in many parts of the developing world, access to and the availability of clean water is a prerequisite to the sustainable growth and development of communities around the world.
Recognizing water availability, water quality, and sanitation as fundamental issues underlying infectious disease emergence, the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats held a two-day public workshop in Washington, DC on September 23 and 24, 2008. Through invited presentations and discussions, participants explored global and local connections between water, sanitation, and health; the spectrum of water-related disease transmission processes as they inform intervention design; lessons learned from water-related disease outbreaks; vulnerabilities in water and sanitation infrastructure in both industrialized and developing countries; and opportunities to improve water and sanitation infrastructure so as to reduce the risk of water-related infectious disease.
Other Reports by this Activity
Displaying: 3 of 22 Reports
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Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation. A Tribute to the Life and Scientific Legacies of Joshua Lederberg. Workshop Summary
Dr. Joshua Lederberg – scientist, Nobel laureate, visionary thinker, and friend of the Forum on Microbial Threats – died on February 2, 2008. It was in his honor that the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop on May 20-21, 2008, to examine Dr. Lederberg’s scientific and policy contributions to the marketplace of ideas in the life sciences, medicine, and public policy. The resulting workshop summary, Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation, demonstrates the extent to which conceptual and technological developments have, within a few short years, advanced our collective understanding of the microbiome, microbial genetics, microbial communities, and microbe-host-environment interactions.
Released: March 27, 2009
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Vector-Borne Diseases: Understanding the Environmental, Human Health, and Ecological Connections. Workshop Summary
The Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats convened a workshop—on June 19-20, 2007, in Ft. Collins, CO—entitled Vector-Borne Diseases: Understanding the Environmental, Human Health, and Ecological Connections. The purpose of this public workshop was to examine the global burden of vector-borne diseases of humans, animals, and plants, and to discuss prospects for successful mitigation and response strategies.
Released: March 18, 2008
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