There are many jobs that employees are dying to get, but there are none worth dying for. If your job duties include even occasional contact with blood or other infectious materials – including from an injured co-worker – you are at risk for contracting potentially deadly, incurable diseases. Take this course to learn what bloodborne pathogens are and how you can protect yourself from them. Ideal learners: anyone who may be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials, including healthcare workers, custodians, maintenance staff, research personnel and construction
Two of the most significant bloodborne pathogens are HBV (Hepatitis B Virus) and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). Some of the other bloodborne pathogens include Hepatitis C, Hepatitis D, and Syphilis. These are less significant and not as life threatening as the two listed above.
There are several benefits to double-gloving that have been supported by recent studies [1-4]. By double-gloving, it has been shown that the transfer of virus to healthcare workers’ hands is significantly decreased, as compared to single gloving [1]. Perhaps the incidence of nosocomial infections could be reduced if double-gloving were a requirement in healthcare settings. In the operating room (OR), double-gloving has been shown to provide superior protection against potential exposure to blood-borne pathogens [2]. Breaking the barrier between an OR nurses’ hands and the external environment was shown to occur in 8.9% of cases in one study in which single-gloving was practiced during surgical procedures [2]. Remarkably, in the same study, it was shown that when double-gloving was practiced, there was not a single case of both layers of gloves being perforated [2]. From the evidence provided in that study, one could assume that when double-gloving is practiced, it is virtually impossible for the hands of a healthcare worker to become exposed to the external environment during a sur...
The way in which this problem was able to occur is that because now we have things like hospitals, or other sorts of locations used to aid the public we have now created the opportunity for many people with different illnesses to all accompany each other. This in turn has created a breading ground for bacteria. Thus the more compact the area, like the ER, the more likely to catch some form of illness. Since M.R.S.A. has become too prevalent in the world the likely-hood of people contracting the disease is much higher. Also since it doesn’t require a host for survival, touching contaminated surfaces can transmit it. There have even been instances where hospital staffs accidently were carrying the disease around the hospital on their uniforms. In a study done by Russel Olmsted, 60% of doctors and 65% of nurses were found caring M.R.S.A. on their uniforms. This leads to the risk that every patient they helped or were near during the time they were contaminated are now at risk for the disease (MNT, 2011).
"Preventing Exposures to Bloodborne Pathogens among Paramedics." Workplace Solutions (2010): n. pag. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
There can never be enough emphasis on its teaching in school, communities, colleges, hospitals, clinics etc. There are a lot of journal articles, books and research material available to support this easy prevention technique. Rachel Barrett and Jacqueline Randle (2008) in their journal, Hand hygiene practices: nursing students perceptions, state that “Hands of healthcare workers and patients are therefore a primary cause for the transmission of infections by both endogenous and exogenous spread” (Para. 1). This is a relevant point which must be highlighted in every study material and teaching plans by the tutors in healthcare settings. Without proper hand hygiene it not possible to decrease the ill effects of infections spread through contact. The authors further discuss that other standard precautions should be kept in mind as those are important too. For example, while doing dressing change or assessing the pressure ulcer it is crucial to wear gloves as hand washing alone would not be enough to protect from contamination. However, the main point to remember is that gloves should not be used as a substitute for hand
Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDS) are a disease of infectious origin whose incidence in humans has increased within the recent past threatens to increase in the near future. Over 30 new infectious agents have been detected worldwide in the last three decades; 60% of these are of zoonotic origin, and more than 2-3rds of these have originated in the wildlife (Dikid et al., 2013).
Swine flu is a disease that has placed a burden on humanity for many years. The virus of swine flu has a very intriguing history as well. Swine flu had originated from the first influenza pandemic in 1918. The actual swine flu virus had come from a pig in Iowa in 1931. Two years later a human strand of swine flu was found in London for the very first time. This was later followed by the Hong Kong flu pandemic in 1968 which had killed up to one million people worldwide. Many years after these pandemics had occurred, the first cases of swine flu were found in California and Texas in March of 2009. This pandemic killed 25,174 people who were infected with swine flu. A couple of months later, the United States and the United Kingdom began testing people for the swine flu and started vaccination programs. Swine flu has had a long history and has taken a large number of lives in the past with worldwide pandemics. As a result, countries like the United States started to take measures toward vaccination. The virus has many different ways of being transmitted, signs and symptoms, areas of the world it infects, and treatment plans.
Healthcare-associated infections can occur in any type of healthcare facility. It usually begins from cross contamination from healthcare providers to the patient, however, it can come from other patients, hazardous medical procedures, and contaminated surgical tools too. Healthcare workers play the leading role in preventing healthcare-associated infections. Srigley et al. (2013) stated that “Healthcare worker (HCW) hand hygiene is considered to be one of the most important interventions for the prevention of HAIs and AROs. However HCW hand hygiene is typically poor, with a median compliance of 40%, and few interventions have been demonstrated to result in significant and sustained improvement” In order to
Needle sticks injuries (NSIs) are one of common injuries in the hospitals and medical place. NSIs commonly occur during needle recapping, drawing blood, administering an intravenous drug, performing other procedures involving sharp injuries (SI), passed needles between personnel, needles penetrate the glove and skin of the during surgery, place needles in an overfilled or poorly located sharps container and failure to use appropriate personal protective equipment (1-5). In the recent years, NSIs is one of the most important threats that mention in health workers (HCWs) (6). A major concern about percutaneous exposure incidents (PEIs) such as NSIs and SI are Blood borne infections (BBIs) (6-9). Based on report center for disease control and prevention(CDC) in the United States, each year 600000 to 800000 cases of NSIs occur among HCWs (6, 9-11). US
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have become a serious problem for patient safety worldwide, and their prevention is a high priority (World Health Organisation, 2009). Because of the severity of the problem, many hand hygiene guidelines and compliance initiatives have been promoted by large organisations such as the World Health Organisations(WHO) (Hand Hygiene Australia, 2013 ). Numerous studies have proved that HAIs are often transmitted via the hands of HCWs, therefore hand hygiene is paramount, and it is believed to be the most important measure for preventing HAIs (World Health Organisation, 2009).In September 2007, " Uniforms and Workwear : An Evidence Base for Local Guidelines” was introduced by the Department of Health in the UK. (Department of Health, 2007). It is now well known as the BBE guideli...
According to recent reports from the Exposure Study of Occupational Practice, “bloodborne pathogen
(2014) shed light on two key components for infection control, which includes protecting patients from acquiring infections and protecting health care workers from becoming infected (Curchoe et al., 2014). The techniques that are used to protect patients also provide protection for nurses and other health care workers alike. In order to prevent the spread of infections, it is important for health care workers to be meticulous and attentive when providing care to already vulnerable patients (Curchoe et al., 2014). If a health care worker is aware they may contaminate the surroundings of a patient, they must properly clean, disinfect, and sterilize any contaminated objects in order to reduce or eliminate microorganisms (Curchoe et al., 2014). It is also ideal to change gloves after contact with contaminated secretions and before leaving a patient’s room (Curchoe, 2014). Research suggests that due to standard precaution, gloves must be worn as a single-use item for each invasive procedure, contact with sterile sites, and non-intact skin or mucous membranes (Curchoe et al., 2014). Hence, it is critical that health care workers change gloves during any activity that has been assessed as carrying a risk of exposure to body substances, secretions, excretions, and blood (Curchoe et al.,
Many studies are done on the causes of the spread of infectious disease, and their conclusion has been due to the transfer of germs, bacteria or viruses from one person to another. All the studies come down to the fact that proper hand washing technique can prevent the spread of those diseases. “Every year, lives are lost because of the spread of infections in hospitals. Health care workers can take steps to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. These steps are part of infection control” (Medline Plus). People feel sick or even lose their life because of infectious diseases that are passed by germs from one to another. When it comes to health care providers they have to be really careful because they can become the transferring agent of diseases. When they go from one ill patient to another, they can bring one patient’s germs to another. They need to take the simple precaution of hand washing in between patients to stop diseases from spreading. Health care providers have to be cautious about germs not just for their patients, but also for their own families. Because they can ta...
Avoiding infection or, at least, breaking the chain of transmission is vital in any setting, but more so in healthcare environments where infections and vulnerable hosts are moving under the same roof. What needs to be done, then?
The biosafety program ensures the competency of the laboratory staff in safely performing their job through training and documentation of technical expertise. The laboratory staff must manifest professional responsibility for management of research materials complying with appropriate materials management procedures. A hallmark of biosafety practices requires laboratory access to be limited to essential personnel only when work with biological agents is in progress. Biosecurity practices on the other hand ensure that access to the laboratory facility and biological materials are limited and controlled. An inventory system must also be in place so as to control and track biological stocks or other potentially hazardous biological agents in both biosafety and biosecurity programs. For biosafety, the transfer and shipping of infectious biological materials must comply with safe packaging, containment and appropriate transport procedures, while biosecurity ensures that transfers are controlled, tracked and documented relative to the potential risks of the materials being transferred. Both programs must involve the laboratory staff in the development of practices and procedures that fulfills the requirements of biosafety and biosecurity initiatives without hindering research or clinical/diagnostic activities. The success of both of these programs is anchored on a laboratory culture