It is diseases such as jaundice with hepatitis A in children and E in adults, typhoid, cholera and gastroenteritis that reflect the hygiene status of a city and not the occurrence of dengue and malaria.

Food and water–borne diseases can be eradicated by the following public awareness formula: When in doubt follow the principle, "heat it, boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it". This means that in an unhygienic environment, one can eat an orange or a banana but not a tomato or apple. Other steps are:

1. Do not eat salad that has been left open for more than 2 hours even if it is washed properly.
2. Do not take cooked food that has been left on the table for more than 2 hours.
3. Vegetables grown under the ground or over the surface of the ground should be washed properly before eating them raw. They may be the biggest source of worm infection in the brain, a condition called neurocysticercosis.
4. Boiled water is the safest water to drink.
5. Ice made from unhygienic water can be the source of most water–borne diseases.

It is our duty to keep our home and city as clean as possible. We must regard our city as our extended home, a garden as our farmhouse and roads as are our personal walking tracks.