Review: domestic hygiene and diarrhoea – pinpointing the problem.

The authors hypothesize that any behaviours which prevent stools from getting into the child's main habitat are likely to have a greater impact on health than those practices which prevent pathogens in the environment from being digested. A review of the epidemiological evidence for the effect of primary and secondary barrier behaviours, supports the conclusion that safe stool disposal may be more important that hand-washing before eating. Tropical Medicine and International Health 2000;5:22-32.