Does Lack of Healthy Housing Affect the Prevalence of Infectious Diseases? Linkages between Household Environment and Urban Health in India

Abstract

This study analyses the temporal variations in the prevalence of infectious diseases and their relationship with changing household environments in urban India using data from last three rounds of National Sample Survey on Morbidity and Health Care. The major infectious diseases are clubbed into three categories - water borne diseases (WBD), air borne diseases (ABD) and vector borne diseases (VBD). The prevalence of ABD is sharply rising followed by VBD in urban India during the last two decades. There are wide inter-state variations in household amenities like modern cooking fuels, access to safe water, availability of flush toilet facility, underground drainage, etc., which have direct linkages with infectious diseases. Urban areas have growing trend of infectious diseases due to increasing pressure on available basic infrastructure. They need better living condition, improvement of domestic hygiene, cleaner environment and sanitation, and targeted public health interventions.