Infection Control and Isolation Flashcards
What is chain of infection?
How bacteria, virus, fungi, parasites, and prions move from place to place.
What are the 3 modes of transmission?
Contact, droplet, and airborne.
What is the chain of infection in order?
- Infection agent
- Reservoir
- Portal of exit
- Mode of transmission
- Portal of entry
- Susceptible Host
What is an infectious agent?
Something that contains bacteria, fungi, virus, parasite, prion.
What is an example of an infectious agent?
Clostridium difficile
staphylococcus aureus
What is a reservoir?
The habit of the infectious agent, a location where it can live, grow, and reproduce itself or replicate.
What are some examples of a reservoir?
Inanimate reservoirs include contaminated soil, water, food, medical equipment, IV fluids, and feces.
Animate reservoirs include people, insects, birds, and animals.
What is a portal of exit?
Means by which the infectious agent can leave the reservoir.
What is a portal of entry?
Any body orifice–for example, ears, nose, mouth, or skin–that provides a place for an infectious agent to replicate or for a toxin to act.
What is a susceptible host?
Required for the infectious agent to take hold and become a reservoir for infection. Not everyone who is exposed to an infectious agent will get ill. Some people never exhibit manifestations at all but can become colonized (temporarily or permanently) with the infectious agent.
What does virulent mean?
Term to describe how efficient an infectious agent is at making people ill.
What factors increase the susceptibility of a host?
-Age
-Underlying diseaseHIV/AIDS
-Malignancy
-Transplants
-Medications: immunosuppressants, antirejection medications, antineoplastics, antimicrobials, corticosteroids, gastric suppressants (e.g., proton pump inhibitors)
-Surgical procedures
-Radiation therapy
-Indwelling devices: endotracheal tubes, urinary catheters, central venous catheters, arterial catheters, and implants such as pacemakers and artificial joints
What are the two types of contact transmission?
Direct and indirect
What is direct contact transmission?
Occurs when micro-organisms are directly moved from an infected person to another person, rather than through a contaminated object or person.
What is an example of direct contact transmission?
herpes simplex virus [HSV]
Scabies
Multi drug resistant organisms
What is indirect contact transmission?
Occurs when microorganisms are directly moved from the infected person to another person with having a contaminated object or person between these two.
What is an example of indirect contact transmission?
In the hospital setting, Staphylococcus aureus is notorious for spreading through indirect contact transmission. For example, drainage from a client’s wound might get on the bed rail or a bedside table, which others then touch.
Indirect transmission can occur if a nurse cares for a group of clients and continues to wear the same gloves or mask for more than one client, or does not perform hand hygiene in between clients.
What is PPE and what is it used for?
Specially designed equipment that is meant to protect the health care worker from contamination, blood, or body fluids.
Equipment that should be put on (donned) prior to client interactions to prevent the spread of infectious organisms includes?
gloves, gowns, masks, eye and face protection, and shoe covers.
What specially designed equipment is meant to protect the health care worker from contamination, blood, or body fluids?
masks, eye protection, gown, gloves, and hair caps.
What is droplet transmission?
Occurs when droplets from the respiratory tract of a client travel through the air and into the mucosa of a host (ex. nurse, other client, healthcare worker).
What are some examples of pathogens transmitted via droplets?
the influenza virus, diphtheria, mycoplasm pneumonia, pertussis, rubella, mumps
What is airborne transmission?
occurs when small particulates found in the air move into the airspace of another person and carry infectious agents. These particles remain in the air and can travel over relatively long distances, leading to the potential for others outside the client’s room to inhale them.
What are some examples of infections caused by airborne transmission?
tuberculosis, rubeola (measles), and varicella (chickenpox)
What do we do with patients that have an infection that can be transmitted through the airborne route?
placement in a private room with negative air pressure
What is vehicle transmission?
Transmission of infectious agents to various individuals through a common source, such as contaminated food or water.
ex) when produce becomes contaminated with Escherichia coli and is consumed by many different individuals, all of whom become sick.
What is vector borne tranmission?
Transmission of infectious agents through animals, such as an insect or rodent. While they are not infected with the pathogen themselves, they can carry micro-organisms from one location or person to individuals.
What is nonspecific immunity?
Comprised of neutrophils and macrophages and their work as phagocytes.
Both neutrophils and macrophages are released during the inflammatory response.
What are phagocytes?
Eat and destroy micro-organisms, thereby helping to protect the body from harm.
What is specific immunity?
The work of antibodies (also called immunoglobulins) and lymphocytes.
Antibodies bind to infectious agents and activate the white blood cells and complement to destroy the infectious agent.
What is the inflammatory response?
Natural defense of the body when injured, when foreign substances are present or when infectious agents attack.