[Culture, environment and fecal hazards: anthropological observations].

Culture, environnement et péril fécal: réflexions anthropologiques.

Publisher: Lavoisier Country of Publication: France NLM ID: 9212564 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0037-9085 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00379085 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Bull Soc Pathol Exot Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: [Paris] : Lavoisier
Original Publication: Paris : Masson, [1990-

Culture* ; Environment*; Communicable Diseases/*transmission ; Feces/*microbiology; Africa ; Anthropology, Cultural ; Cultural Characteristics ; Defecation ; Epidemiology ; Ethnology ; Hand Disinfection ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Sanitation ; Toilet Facilities

This paper was presented as a tribute to André Dodin, formerly director of the Paris Pasteur Institute's cholera department. It was intended to: - recall representations of what is seen as pure, impure, sullied, dirty ... medical and social interventions depend not only on scientific theories but also on unconscious presuppositions linked to their particular history and culture; - to stress the necessity of reexamining epidemiological chains in fecal peril bearing in mind bodily techniques and the material and symbolic behaviour of the populations concerned; - to insist upon the fact that traditional sanitation techniques do exist and should not be neglected, whether it be to make use of them, avoid or combat them. It is not a question of idealizing local culture, but of becoming acquainted with it so as better to appreciate its role.

Date Created: 19990317 Date Completed: 19990421 Latest Revision: 20121115

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