KALEIDOSCOPING PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE ON HYGIENE, HEALTH ANDPLAGUE - A SURVEY IN THE AFTERMATH OF A PLAGUE EPIDEMIC IN INDIA

In September 1994 a plague epidemic hit a number of cities in India. T hough the spread of the disease was controlled within a short period o f about one month, its influences on various channels of information, on the functioning of government departments (especially health and sa nitation), on the scientific community and on people's scientific info rmation level were remarkable. This paper analyses the responses of 11 27 individuals interviewed in December 1994. The data indicates high l evels of informedness about health, hygiene and plague, with little re ference to extra-scientific explanations of the causes of the epidemic . Respondents expressed a high degree of confidence in the modem syste m of medicine. From this analysis we also infer that the public could not be described as 'superstitious', 'unscientific' or 'unhygienic': o nly when denied access to information and civic amenities did they sho w extra-scientific thinking or 'unhygienic' behaviour.