So you might be asking yourself, how are Bloodborne Pathogens and infectious disease spread?
Well, first let's look at what a Bloodborne Pathogen is.
It's a microorganism (such as a virus) that are present in human blood and can cause disease
in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis
C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Infectious Disease is a disease that enters into the body through various routes, that
is caused by microorganisms such as a bacteria, fungus, or a virus. Infectious diseases can
range from mild to even life-threatening.
For disease to be spread, it requires several conditions be present that we call The Chain
of Infection. There must be: An adequate number of pathogens, or disease-causing
organisms. There should be a reservoir or source that
allows the pathogen to survive and multiply, in other words blood itself.
A mode of transmission from the source to the host.
An entrance then through which the pathogen may enter the host.
And lastly the host has to be susceptible, in other words: they don't have an immunity
to that virus or bacteria.
Infection control strategies serve to prevent disease transmission by interrupting one or
more links in that chain of infection.
The primary source of potential bloodborne pathogens is blood and specific bodily fluids,
like semen and vaginal secretions. Other bodily fluids may contain bloodborne pathogens, especially
those visibly contaminated with blood, such as:
cerebrospinal fluid (Brain) synovial fluid (Joints)
pleural fluid (Lungs) amniotic fluid (Uterus)
pericardial fluid (Heart) peritoneal fluid (Abdomen)
Urine, feces, saliva and some other body fluids do not typically carry bloodborne pathogens,
but when introduced with blood also become potentially infectious materials. However,
it can be difficult to identify a body fluid or know for sure whether or not it is contaminated
with blood. In general you should treat all body fluids as potentially contaminated with
blood with the potential for carrying a bloodborne pathogens disease.
So, if we could be sure that we could always keep the bloodborne pathogen outside of our
body, we really would never have to worry about this. But unfortunately, there are many
routes that do introduce that disease into us.
And the four basic modes are what we're going to discuss now.
The first one is direct contact. This occurs when microorganisms are transferred from one
infected person directly into another person. Examples include: a caregiver has an open
uncovered wound and blood from a patient contacts the caregiver's wound.
Parenteral exposure is this that comes in infected blood is introduced directly into
your body through a piercing wound like maybe a needle-stick or some type of sharp jagged
glass that has blood on it, or metal, and then jabs into your body.
Indirect contact involves the transfer of an infectious agent through a contaminated
object or person. Examples would be a caregiver who doesn't wash his hands in-between caring
for someone with infected body fluids and other patients or a person picks up blood
covered materials with his bare hands while cleaning.
Airborne transmission which occurs when droplets or small particles contain infectious agents
that remain effective over time and distance in the air. Like tuberculosis, for instance,
that's a very common disease that's spread this way. Bloodborne pathogens are not typically
spread in this manner.
You might be wondering what's the most common way that bloodborne pathogens are spread?
It's most commonly spread through sexual contact. That's the primary mode of transmission for
bloodborne pathogens. The highest potential risk while providing
medical of first aid care exists when a contaminated sharp object cuts or punctures the skin; a
parenteral exposure is what that's called. Examples include: a needle stick, injection
from drug usage, cut from broken glass or metal, or human bites.
A medium potential risk exists when an infected body fluid gets into an open cut or mucous
membrane, such as in the eyes, mouth, ears or nose.
The lowest potential risk is when a contaminated object touches inflamed skin like acne or
skin abrasions.
In addition to knowing how Bloodborne pathogens are spread, it is just as important to know
how bloodborne pathogens are NOT spread: Intact skin is our first defense against disease.
Bloodborne pathogens cannot "soak" through normal intact skin. The Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) states that there is no known risk from exposure to intact skin.
Unlike some infectious diseases, Bloodborne Pathogens are NOT spread by casual contact
such as handshaking, hugging, doorknobs, using the same equipment, like toilets or water fountains.