WETLANDS AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Abstract

Various facets of public health involvement with wetlands in South Africa are considered. Emphasis is however given to the role of these systems in human disease transmission. With the possible exception of bilharzia, too little is known of the biology of either the pathogens or their intermediate vectors (if they have one) in the aquatic environment for transmission to be adequately understood and for the most cost-effective control strategies to be developed. Insufficient liaison between limnologists and the public health authorities is seen as contributing to this difficulty.