Unit 3: Universal Precautions and DIsease Transmission

Question 1

In the healthcare field we interact with people and environments that have the potential to…

Answer 1

Carry and transmit thousands of diseases through viruses and bacteria’s.
-At the bare minimum maintaining sanitation through proper handwashing and maintaining a clean environment is important, but we also need to be aware of the multiple modes of disease transmission that we may encounter, and ways to protect ourselves.

Question 2

Air droplets

Answer 2

Examples:

• Whooping cough
• The flu
• Common colds

Question 3

Fecal-Oral

Answer 3

These are diseases that occur when we don’t properly wash our hands after using the restroom or working with a client on toileting.
-Importantly for OTs proper hygiene is both a skill we must practice ourselves and one that may be part of an intervention we teach our clients to keep them healthy.
-Common diseases that come from this mode of transmission include: cholera and Rotavirus.
We have also all heard of the Norovirus that happens on cruise ships. If you have ever been on a cruise you will understand why they push hand sanitizer so strongly before entering dining rooms.

Question 4

Sexual

Answer 4

Examples: HIV and Hepatitis B

Question 5

Vector-Borne

Answer 5

These are diseases that are developed inside another species such as an insect
and transmitted to people through bites.
Some vector-borne diseases include: Malaria and Typhus.
-A more recently discussed vector-borne illness that is still prevalent in south American and central American countries is Zika.

Question 6

Blood-

Answer 6

Examples: HIV and Hepatitis B and C

Question 7

Unclean Wounds

Answer 7

These diseases come from pathogens in nature entering the body through an open wound like tetanus.

Question 8

Unclean Wounds

Answer 8

These diseases come from pathogens in nature entering the body through an open wound like tetanus.

Question 9

Mother- to Child or vertical transmission

Answer 9

Includes: HIV and syphilis, among others.

Question 10

In the disease life cycle, there is a typical progression which makes us susceptible to transmitting diseases to others…

Answer 10

1st: Become infected by something, and then through the incubation period we become infectious to others.
- Important time before symptoms start and when we can transmit the illness that puts others at risk.
2nd: Develop symptoms and maintain our infectiousness until just before symptoms dissipate.
3rd: Once both symptoms and our ability to transmit the infection are gone, we are still considered infected for a short period of time afterwards.
- The danger as OTs is the frequency in which we encounter people who could expose us to infections and that we then can expose to any infections we are carrying but unaware of, before symptoms start. (This is another reason why infection control and hygiene are so important)

Question 11

7 universal or standard precautions to prevent the transmission of illness.

Answer 11

1. Hand hygiene (most imp)
2. Use of personal protective equipment like masks, gloves, and gowns,
3. Cough etiquette
4. Sharps safety
5. Safe injection practices
6. Sterile instruments and devices
7. Clean and disinfected environments.

Question 12

How many deaths could be prevented by washing hands properly?

Answer 12

The CDC estimates that more than a million deaths could be prevented yearly if people properly washed their hands. Make sure you are doing your part to prevent disease transmission every day.