MOD E Tech 37 Disease Information Flashcards
Infectious Diseases
Infection is a pathological process that involves the damaging of body tissues by biological agents or the toxic substances they produce
Pathogens
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
•State how diseases are transmitted and identify methods directed at preventing transmission
How Diseases are Transmitted
Define the following terms
- Contacts
- Endemic
- Epidemic
- Pandemic
- Sporadic
- Fomites
- Incubation Period
- Quarantine
- Immunity
- Vector
•Identify, and briefly describe, the 3 types of ectoparasite commonly encountered as infestations in the UK.
- Colonisation of a patient by an animal parasite
- Majority of infestations by organisms living in or on the skin (Ectoparasites)
- Scabies, lice & fleas most common types in UK
- The risk of becoming infested with scabies and lice through patient contact is limited due to the requirement for extended periods of close contact
Universal Precautions will reduce the likelihood of infestation
Scabies
- Scabies mites burrow under the skin and lay eggs
- Excreta and saliva can produce allergic reaction – rash
- Spread by direct, prolonged skin to skin contact with infested person.
- Can also be spread by sharing clothing and bedding
Lice
- Wingless insects – minute but visible to naked eye
- Found worldwide as ectoparasites of mammals
- 550 species – only 3 known to infest humans
Fleas
- Human, cat & dog – most commonly seen.
- Cat flea accounts for 95% of flea problems in UK.
- Cat and dog flea will not normally remain on a human – will jump on to a person, bite and jump off
- Not generally responsible for disease transmission in the UK
Blood Borne Viruses (BBV)
- Hepatitis B (HBV)
- Hepatitis C (HCV)
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Transmitted through blood, other body fluids and tissues
- “Needlestick” injury presents greatest risk in healthcare setting
- Not all patients with BBV will have been diagnosed
- Employ Universal Precautions
HIV and AIDS
- A person infected with HIV can develop Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- First reported case in UK in 1981
- People with HIV infection usually termed “HIV positive” (HIV+)
For HIV and AIDS identify:
- Methods of transmission
- Groups at risk
- Recognition
Those at Risk
•Every sexually active person
Social Groups at Particular Risk:
- Homosexual and bisexual men
- Drug users who share needles
- People who received transfusions of infected blood or blood products
- Sexual partners of the above groups
Babies of HIV positive mothers
Identify, and briefly explain, the component parts of the practice known as “Universal Precautions
- Handwashing
- Preventing contamination
- Skin care
- Mucous membrane protection
- Dealing with spillages of blood or body fluids
- Sharps
- Inoculation injury
- Cleaning and disinfection
- Clinical Waste
- Linen
Sharps Injury
Category III Diseases
- Rabies
- Plague
- Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers
–Lassa
–Marburg
–Ebola
–Crimean/Congo (CCHF)
•Disease requiring Category III infection control measures are extremely rare in the UK
