In the past, people did not understand the connection between sanitation and disease. As time went on, during periods of epidemics, authorities began to order that streets be cleaned and sick people be quarantined in special facilities. When people began to see that these kinds of measures helped the spread of diseases, they became more interested in working together to develop healthy communities. This is referred to as public health. You will learn about public health in this activity. 

Health programs first came to Canada in 1919 after the Spanish flu pandemic. In that year, the Government of Canada established the department of health. Today, each province has health departments that do such jobs as:

• monitoring the safety of drinking water and checking the pollutants in the air we breathe (which you have learned about previously) and
  

• taking measures to avoid outbreaks of disease

In Alberta, the public health service is called the Regional Health Authority. This authority offers many public health programs and services.    

One of the ways that public health authorities take measures to avoid outbreaks of disease is with vaccination programs.
 
Vaccinations have been shown to increase people’s ability to fight off diseases. In Canada, children are often vaccinated against whooping cough, diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, and rubella (German measles). People who travel to other countries may be vaccinated against typhoid fever, yellow fever, or hepatitis.

New vaccinations are often developed to respond to new outbreaks of disease. For example, recently a vaccination was developed for meningitis, which is an inflammation of the covering of the brain. When this disease started to spread in an area of the province, public health officials provided free vaccinations against it to children and teens, who were most likely to get the infection.

Health authorities also promote food safety awareness. In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) enforces the policies and standards set by Health Canada to control the safety and nutritional quality of food sold in Canada.

Several aspects of food safety are regulated and inspected:

• Agricultural products including seeds, feeds, and fertilizers must meet certain standards to be safe for use.

•  Fresh foods including meat, fish, eggs, grains, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables, as well as prepared and packaged foods must be safe.

• Packaging and labelling must be accurate and honest so consumers are sure of what they are buying and eating.

• Diseases and pests that could threaten plants and animals are monitored to ensure they are not a threat to Canadians.

    When dangerous products that have been sold are discovered and such products should not be eaten or used because of health concerns or allergy hazards, foods can be recalled. That is, the producer must remove them from stores.
   
    Transmission of animal diseases to humans is carefully monitored to protect the health of the public. Diseases such as avian flu, "mad cow" disease, and others are carefully monitored.

    Information is also provided to teach people to handle, cook, and store food safely.