Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Hepatitis

Some of the good personal hygiene practices include eating, drinking and smoking only in the designated areas that are away from places where hazardous materials are kept. Others include maintaining the work clothes in a good condition, washing of the skin, eyes or clothing promptly if hazardous materials splash on them even when there are no apparent symptoms. Removing contact lenses when working in areas with presence of vapour and always washing hands before patient contact and aseptic procedures, after patient contact, as well as contact with the patient’s environment.­­­ According to Boyce and Pittet (2002), hand care is essential in the prevention of the spread of bacteria from the patient’s environment and the patient himself.

The risk rating is significant, the severity of the harm is major, and the likelihood is significant. The immediate action is to wash the exposed area with soap and plenty of water and then notify the supervisor or the department responsible for managing the exposures. The risk management procedure would be to identify the source and access and check the risk status of the individual source (Doan et al., 2012).

The risk rating is negligible, the severity of harm is low, and the likelihood is negligible. The immediate action would be to identify the source of the spillage and clean it whereas the risk management procedure would be to treat the wounds producing the spill.

The risk rating is low, the severity of harm is significant, and the likelihood is significant. The immediate action would be to report the exposure to the person in charge and report on how long the fluid was in your body. The risk of management especially the risk of becoming infected after the exposure would be low, but it is good to report the vulnerability right away.

The following are some of the tasks involved in terminal cleaning: Gathering all the equipment required for the terminal cleaning, wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE), discarding all disposables in the room as clinical waste, preparing disinfectingcleaning solutions in a container (Grol and Grimshaw, 2003). Ventilation of the room cleaned must be adequate and when there is the absence of windows the door should be left open during application of chlorine dioxidehypochlorite solutions. After cleaning before drying rinse with water, always decontaminate your hands after removing and disposing of PPE. Some of the personal protective equipment required during the cleaning include: double gloves, coverall or disposable gown made of fluid resistance fabric, disposable, waterproof apron, heavy duty, reusable waterproof apron, fluid resistance surgical/medical mask, eye protection equipment e.g. goggles or face shield and lastly the waterproof boots.

Susceptible hosts are the individuals with small resistance alongside certain organism but when exposed to the same organism they are likely to develop the illness (Jackson et al., 2008). Examples of vulnerable hosts include aged and young ones- the ageing process is deleterious of fitness and this makes it easier for aged to be vulnerable to disease, persons with malnutrition – malnutrition is a result of energy deficit. This leads to immunodeficiency hence making one susceptible to diseases, persons with high level of stress- which is a mental tension state and worry which is caused by problems in life. Stress causes low immune system by creating continual inflammatory situation as well as weakening the immunity and persons undergoing medical therapy. However, patients exposed to microorganisms may develop a commensal connection as well as keep the organism to be the asymptomatic carrier and grow a disease process which is very active (Klionsky et al., 2008).         

Colonisation -This is the presence of microorganisms in the body that makes a person sick, but there are no signs and symptoms seen.

Infection-This is a microorganism present in the body and where they cause damage to the body tissues, it’s in the presence of acute inflammation, e.g. swelling, redness and pain. Here, the germs are in the body and make you sick resulting in signs and symptoms.

Disease-This is an abnormal condition not caused by any external force which impacts an organism but it comprises of disorder functions usually serving as evolutionary disadvantages.

• Contact; is a frequent form of transmission of infections. It can either be direct or indirect. When there is a direct body surface interaction between two organisms and a physical transfer of pathogens from an infected people to another individual through touch, it is called direct contact transmission while indirect contact transmission occurs between a contaminated object and a person and microorganisms remain on its surface. Examples of infections which can be transmitted through this mode is Noroviruses
• Droplet transmission; this route of transmission occurs especially when droplets having bacteria are propelled in the air and they land on a different individual entering into his system via contact with the nasal mucosa, mouth and conjunctivae. The droplets are generated during sneezing, coughing, and even talking. An example of infection transmitted through this mode is Influenza (Ridzon et al., 1997).
• Airborne; This occurs via airborne droplets nuclei and dust particulates with infectious agents. The agents ferried through such mode usually remain afloat in the air and can be flown by the air currents. M.tuberculosis is one of the microorganisms transmitted through airborne route.
• Vehicle; this applies to germs transmitted through contaminated items medical devices plus equipments. Example of microorganism transmitted through vehicle mode of transmission is cholera (bacteria)
• Vector-borne; here the vertical transmission from the vector to the progeny occurs through the transovarial passage of the infectious agent while horizontal transmission occurs when infected vector transfer the agent to the host. An example of microorganism transmitted through the vector-borne mode of transmission is Malaria.

Bacteria are prokaryotic single-celled organisms which replicate asexually, and it can be harmful or beneficial depending on the type of bacteria, while viruses are cellular non-living pathogens and they need host cells to reproduce. Fungi are eukaryotic and living organisms which can either be very complex multicultural or single-celled organisms. Most of the fungi species are saprophytic, which decompose dead matter (Boyce and Pittet, 2002). Examples of bacteria that you may come across in a hospital environment include Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium sordellii, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii. Examples of the virus include Hepatitis A Band C, Influenza, Human immunodeficiency virus and Notovirus. Examples of fungi microorganisms include Sartini M, Spagnolo AM, Lombardi R and Orlando P.

A pathogen is a disease-causing organism and leads to an illness when they enter the host body. Examples include bacteria, fungi and protozoans.

A susceptible host is when an organism contracts a disease because it is unable to fight the infection or the disease successfully. Examples include persons who are ill, elderly as well as the debilitated.

Portal of entry refers to how germs enter the host’s body either through ingestion, inhalation or penetration. However, the degree of an infection can vary with the depth of penetration. Examples of the portal entries in an organism include open wounds, urinary and respiratory tract to mention just a few

Transmission is defined as to how germs or pathogens are spread. The transmission can either be direct or indirect where for the direct it requires a close link with the infected organism or host but not necessarily physical contact, and for the indirect transmission, a vector is used. Examples of the common ways of transmission include indirect contact, needle stick injury insects or animals and contaminated objects among others.

Portal of exit is how germs or pathogens leave the hosts body. This can either be through body fluids such as saliva, mucus, urine, through intestinally and respiratory tract and open wounds. Reservoir; this is the environment where pathogens live and multiply. The reservoirs can either be in contaminated food or water, in humans and soils not to forget insects and animals (Doan et al., 2012).

The first step is to cover the mouth or the nose with non reusable single-use tissues, especially during sneezing, blowing /wiping noses as well as coughing. Second, contain the secretion of respiratory substances with a tissue. Third, dispose the tissues immediately after use. Fourth, in the event where tissues are not available, sneeze or cough inside the inner elbow instead of hand. Fifth, wash your hands immediately after direct contact with the contaminated materials or secretions. Lastly, keep your hands off the  mucous membrane of the eye as well as the nose.

References

Boyce, J.M. and Pittet, D., 2002. Guideline for hand hygiene in health-care settings: recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee and the HICPAC/SHEA/APIC/IDSA Hand Hygiene Task Force. American journal of infection control, 30(8), pp.S1-S46.

Doan, L.F.H.F.A.C.J.C.L., Forrest, H., Fakis, A., Craig, J., Claxton, L. and Khare, M., 2012. Clinical and cost effectiveness of eight disinfection methods for terminal disinfection of hospital isolation rooms contaminated with Clostridium difficile 027. Journal of hospital infection, 82(2), pp.114-121.

Grol, R. and Grimshaw, J., 2003. From best evidence to best practice: effective implementation of change in patients' care. The lancet, 362(9391), pp.1225-1230.

Jackson, D.J., Gangnon, R.E., Evans, M.D., Roberg, K.A., Anderson, E.L., Pappas, T.E., Printz, M.C., Lee, W.M., Shult, P.A., Reisdorf, E. and Carlson-Dakes, K.T., 2008. Wheezing rhinovirus illnesses in early life predict asthma development in high-risk children. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 178(7), pp.667-672.

Klionsky, D.J., Abeliovich, H., Agostinis, P., Agrawal, D.K., Aliev, G., Askew, D.S., Baba, M., Baehrecke, E.H., Bahr, B.A., Ballabio, A. and Bamber, B.A., 2008. Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy in higher eukaryotes. Autophagy, 4(2), pp.151-175.

Krugman, S., Giles, J.P. and Hammond, J., 1967. Infectious hepatitis: evidence for two distinctive clinical, epidemiological, and immunological types of infection. Jama, 200(5), pp.365-373.

Ridzon, R., Gallagher, K., Ciesielski, C., Mast, E.E., Ginsberg, M.B., Robertson, B.J., Luo, C.C. and DeMaria Jr, A., 1997. Simultaneous transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus from a needle-stick injury. New England Journal of Medicine, 336(13), pp.919-922.