Infectious Diseases

Livelihoods play a role in the infectious diseases that a population can be exposed to and the risk attached to it. Poor living conditions, lack of income and other basic amenities such as safe drinking water and toilets, poor healthcare facilities and low literacy levels have contributed to the spread of infectious diseases in rural communities. Depending on the mode of transmission these diseases can spread from one person, to communities, to a country, across borders and a whole region. This makes infectious diseases one of the most dangerous threats to the global population. There are still millions of people affected by infectious diseases worldwide, most of which live in poor rural regions of developing countries. These rural communities, which depend on livelihoods such as farming, fishing, livestock rearing, hunting and so on, are vulnerable to infectious diseases and their livelihoods are affected by the impact of these diseases.