8- Health, safety and you Flashcards
What are the transmission routes
- Soil – worms/some bacteria - eg Ascaris lumbricoides; Cl. tetani
- Animals/insects – e.g. Pneumocystis jirovecii; rabies virus; Plasmodium spp. (malaria)
- Food/water – e.g. Enterobacteria; hepatitis A virus; vCJD
- Faecal-oral – e.g. Enterobacteria; hepatitis A; noroviruses
- Aerosol – e.g. B.pertussis (whooping cough); measles & influenza viruses
- Direct contact – e.g. sexual; e.g. HIV infection; some herpesviruses
- Transplacental – e.g. rubella virus; Zika virus
- Iatrogenic – e.g. blood; hepatitis B and C; HIV
What is the parenteral route
Entry into the body by injection is known as the parenteral route of inoculation, and distinguishes this route of entry from all other routes e.g. oral or via a wound
What non human sources cause transmission
Animals – Rabies dogs
‘Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease which occurs in more than 150 countries and territories
Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans. Infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in Asia and Africa
* Rabies elimination is feasible through vaccination of dogs and prevention of dog bites.
Who gets rabies
- 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age
Immediate treatment of rabies
- Immediate, thorough wound washing with soap and water after contact with a suspect rabid animal is crucial and can save lives’.
How is rabies transmission between humans
Transmission of micro-organisms in a healthcare setting can be:
1. Through cross-infection (patient to patient), either directly or indirectly
2. from patient to healthcare worker
3. from healthcare worker to patient
Further types of transmission
PERCUTANEOUS – injuries through needles and other sharps, human bites and human scratches.
MUCOCUTANEOUS – exposures to the mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth.
Which contaminated sources cause transmission
- Mucosal secretions and saliva
- Fluids from vesicles or other open lesions
- Faeces, vomit and urine
- Fomites
- Pus
- Blood
Fomites are objects or things e.g. a cup or the surface of a table or a bedsheet.
Nosocomial infections are infections occurring in hospitals.
What are the preventative measures against rabies
Handwashing and good general hygienic procedures
2. Use of appropriate protective clothing
3. Appropriate and effective sterilisation of instruments and disposal
4. Education and awareness – Infection control measures, Patient isolation
5. Immunisation, where available
What is HIV- the virus
A microorganism in a healthcare setting
How does HIV spread
……or….. ……. have to broken for it to infect
Spread from contaminated needles, blood or blood-products, the main problem for hospitals
Virus has been isolated from human blood, semen, vaginal secretions, saliva, tears and breast milk. Commonest routes of transmission are via blood, semen and vaginal secretions
Contact with saliva is not a route of infection, and there is no evidence for transmission by an airborne route or via food, water, fomites or insects
Skin or mucous membranes must be broken for HIV-1 to infect
What are the risks of HIV transmission
- Blood transfusions – 3-5% of all infections
- Intravenous drug abuse – 5-10% of all infections
- Sexual intercourse – 80% of all infections
(Risk of transmission is higher to the passive {receptive} partner) - Perinatal infection – 10% of all infections (From mother to baby)
(via transplacental, intrapartum, blood, genital secretions, breast milk)
Stages of HIV replication
- Attachment to host cell receptor. Viral core with single stranded RNA and reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme released into the host cell cytoplasm.
- RT enzyme converts viral ssRNA into viral double stranded DNA, which enters host cell nucleus and incorporated into the host cell genome with help of enzyme called integrase.
- Integrated viral dsDNA (termed ‘provirus’) remains latent in host cell genome until cell is activated by a foreign protein.
- Following activation of the cell, dsDNA of provirus is transcribed into viral ssRNA. This migrates into host cell cytoplasm.
- Viral ssRNA replicates itself to form progeny ssRNA and also acts as a viral protein template.
- Progeny viral ssRNA and viral core proteins assemble to form progeny viral cores.
- Progeny viral envelope protein is inserted into host cell membrane.
- Newly formed viral particles released to exterior of cell by budding.
What is the natural history of HIV
- HIV is a chronic infection with ongoing viral replication
- Progressive decline in T-lymphocyte count. Below 200 cells/ml, the individual is defined as having Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and is at risk of opportunistic infections
- On average it takes 10 years to progress to AIDS in an untreated person but there is wide individual variation
- The major determinant of the rate of progression to AIDS is the amount of HIV virus particles in the bloodstream
What is pathogenesis
- Acute infection with spread to lymphoid tissue
- Virus present in helper T lymphocytes and macrophages in both a latent (hidden) and a replicative form
- Control of the infection by the immune defences, particularly via cytotoxic T lymphocytes.
- Loss of immune control with time, virus escape by genetic variability
- Loss of greater numbers of helper T lymphocytes through virus and host cell destruction
- Development of AIDS and the appearance of opportunist infections
What are the opportunistic infections in AID
- Bacterial skin infections
Folliculitis (both caused by Staphylococcus pyogenes) - Fungal skin infections
Candidiasis - Viral skin infections
Zoster/Shingles
Herpes simplex virus
Warts
What are the procedures following accidental exposure
- The nature and extent of the exposure is assessed immediately by an informed clinician
- Treatment with appropriate anti-HIV drugs should be commenced immediately
- Usually a combination of drugs is used, including reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors
What causes liver inflammation
- HAV – Primarily through faecal-oral (Usually resolves on its own)
- HBV – Blood and bodily fluids (Lead to chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and cancer Lead to HDV a defective virus that needs HBV to replicate)
- HCV – The same as HBV
What is hepatitis B (HBV) and classification
Long incubation period and there is some antigenic variation, carrier state DNA
Classification- hepadnavirus