Preventing Infectious Diseases

Question 1

• What is a hospital acquired infection?

Answer 1

after >48 hours admission

Question 2

• What types of equipment poses a high risk in terms of getting a hospital acquired infection?

Answer 2

Central lines and catheters pose the greatest risk of the patient in terms of HAI

Question 3

• What are the mandatory infections that hospital need to notify the authorities to (and will get fined for if they don’t stay below target numbers)?

Answer 3

• MRSA
• C. difficile
• Glycopeptide-resistant enterococci
• E. coli

Question 4

• What is herd immunity

Answer 4

A form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, thereby providing a measure of protection for individuals who are not immune.

Question 5

• When has herd immunity been a problem in the UK?

Answer 5

When there was the scare about the MMR vaccine causing autism, the rate of vaccination dropped and there was a small outbreak of measles due to the decreased herd immunity

Question 6

• What is the ACWY vaccination?

Answer 6

The vaccination against the A, C, W and Y strains of Meningococcus B

Question 7

• Why hasn’t the BCG vaccine not had a massive impact on the incidence of tuberculosis?

Answer 7

It mainly prevents non-respiratory tuberculosis, leaving the respiratory route of transmission still going strong

Question 8

• What is trachoma

• how is it transmitted?

which bacteria causes it?

Answer 8

Eyelids become damaged by the infection, causing corneal erosion and blindness

Transmitted through hand-to-eye contact or by flies

Caused by Chlamydia serovars