A Natural History of Hygiene
In unpacking the Pandora’s box of hygiene, the author looks into its ancient evolutionary history and its more recent human history. Within the box, she finds animal behaviour, dirt, disgust and many diseases, as well as illumination concerning how hygiene can be improved. It is suggested that hygie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2007-01-01
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| Series: | Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/749190 |
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| _version_ | 1849414048704102400 |
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| author | Valerie A Curtis |
| author_facet | Valerie A Curtis |
| author_sort | Valerie A Curtis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In unpacking the Pandora’s box of hygiene, the author looks into its ancient evolutionary history and its more recent human history. Within the box, she finds animal behaviour, dirt, disgust and many diseases, as well as illumination concerning how hygiene can be improved. It is suggested that hygiene is the set of behaviours that animals, including humans, use to avoid harmful agents. The author argues that hygiene has an ancient evolutionary history, and that most animals exhibit such behaviours because they are adaptive. In humans, responses to most infectious threats are accompanied by sensations of disgust. In historical times, religions, social codes and the sciences have all provided rationales for hygiene behaviour. However, the author argues that disgust and hygiene behaviour came first, and that the rationales came later. The implications for the modern-day practice of hygiene are profound. The natural history of hygiene needs to be better understood if we are to promote safe hygiene and, hence, win our evolutionary war against the agents of infectious disease. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7198f1b489f54b2e8eaa8aa4dfee8eaf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1712-9532 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2007-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-7198f1b489f54b2e8eaa8aa4dfee8eaf2025-08-20T03:33:57ZengWileyCanadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology1712-95322007-01-01181111410.1155/2007/749190A Natural History of HygieneValerie A Curtis0London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UKIn unpacking the Pandora’s box of hygiene, the author looks into its ancient evolutionary history and its more recent human history. Within the box, she finds animal behaviour, dirt, disgust and many diseases, as well as illumination concerning how hygiene can be improved. It is suggested that hygiene is the set of behaviours that animals, including humans, use to avoid harmful agents. The author argues that hygiene has an ancient evolutionary history, and that most animals exhibit such behaviours because they are adaptive. In humans, responses to most infectious threats are accompanied by sensations of disgust. In historical times, religions, social codes and the sciences have all provided rationales for hygiene behaviour. However, the author argues that disgust and hygiene behaviour came first, and that the rationales came later. The implications for the modern-day practice of hygiene are profound. The natural history of hygiene needs to be better understood if we are to promote safe hygiene and, hence, win our evolutionary war against the agents of infectious disease.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/749190 |
| spellingShingle | Valerie A Curtis A Natural History of Hygiene Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology |
| title | A Natural History of Hygiene |
| title_full | A Natural History of Hygiene |
| title_fullStr | A Natural History of Hygiene |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Natural History of Hygiene |
| title_short | A Natural History of Hygiene |
| title_sort | natural history of hygiene |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/749190 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT valerieacurtis anaturalhistoryofhygiene AT valerieacurtis naturalhistoryofhygiene |