Importance of health and hygiene

Eradicating diseases altogether is insuperable . Even smallpox and polio took years to be wiped out , only with the help of vaccines. Most viruses are zoonotic, i.e spread from animals to humans. For example, the HIV is said to be transmitted from chimpanzees and the MERS from camels. Also , developing a vaccine in a short period of time is an herculean task .Deadly viruses cannot be erased abruptly, but can be avoided at all instances. Therefore , it is in our hands to protect ourselves from these deadly viruses and diseases. 

     " History is philosophy, teaching by examples."    -Thucydides
If we turn the pages of history, there have been  epidemics and pandemics , right from the genesis.Critics argue that it was an epidemic that caused the decline of the Indus valley civilization and not the Aryan invasion.  It was an obscure microbe that killed even Alexander the Great and his mighty army . Mahmud of Ghazni , who invaded India 17 times , died of tuberculosis transmitted from his soldier . The outbreak of the plague in England multiple times was due to unkempt human - animal  interaction . Cholera , originated from unclean feces infected water , wasn't known as a water borne disease in the beginning. Different kinds of flu have surfaced due to improper animal rearing practices.Man should learn his lessons from history.
          If Louis Pasteur hadn't  devised the technique of pasteurisation , then milk would have caused numerous diseases to man . Ignaz Semmelweiss formulated the importance of hand washing in the 20th century , but only now it has been put into practice with full force . If Dr. John Snow hadn't discovered that Cholera was caused by contaminated water , then nobody would have realised the importance of access to clean freshwater . When people tried to  bring out clean customs , they were always shunned away in the beginning. When contraception was the only way to combat HIV , religious institutions ridiculed it.
          Only when we observe the casualties caused , we realise the need for hygiene. Health and hygiene is not a new concept for us . It's been laid down to us for centuries. For instance, the Tamil proverbs like ,  'கூழானலும் குளித்து குடி ' and  'கந்தையானலும் கசக்கி கட்டு'  has been there for generations. 
       Adverse situations like these teach us the importance of health and hygiene. The only way we can tackle this situation is to invest more on health and education. Critics point out that countries which spend more on health and education, are capable to manoeuvre the crises effectively. For instance, countries like Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea outperformed better than their counterparts. In India , after facing two devastating floods , the outbreak of Nipah virus , and their focus on public health, made Kerala , to approach and compass the crises well .As Gandhi quotes,
" It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."
              According to the WHO , health is ,
" a complete state of physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." A person is deemed fit only when he/she is wholesomely healthy.  Hence , we should strive to attain this collaborative fitness. Following hygienic customs may not only safeguard us , but also people in our surroundings. Even simple steps , could save us from drastic catastrophes. As the Catalan proverb says ,
" From the bitterness of disease , man learns the sweetness of health." It's high time that we realise it soon .