unit 1

first line of defense

intact skin

second line of defense

inflammatory process

third line of defense

immunity

hand-washing techniques

wash hands for 20 seconds or sing HB 2 times

medical asepsis

cleanliness; not eliminating all germs

sterilization

complete elimination of germs and their components

pathogen

microorganism that has the ability to get someone sick and cause death

4 major characteristics of an infected agent

* specificity
* virulence
* pathogenicity
* invasiveness

specificity

attraction and susceptibility of host

virulence

ability to grow or multiply

pathogenicity

how dangerous

invasiveness

ability to infect

nosocomial infection

infection from hospital or clinic during medical care

community acquired infection

infected individual who enters the health care facility

* theatre, playground, classroom, etc.

antibiotic regimen

* antibiotics are good for you but you don’t want to be antibiotic dependent
* finish prescriptions to eliminate germs
* becoming antibiotic dependent means an increase in superbugs that the antibiotics won’t be able to kill

factors that increase the risk of infection

* age
* elderly as their immunity breaks down
* children as they are trying to build immunity
* stress
* diet
* exercise
* rest
* sleep
* genetics

most common site of a nosocomial infection

1) bloodstream

2) urinary tract

best way to fight nosocomial infection

wash and moisturize hands

increasing chances of nosocomial infection

* catheters
* break in your skin
* wounds

what is the #1 means of protecting yourself from external environments

skin

bad microorganisms

pathogens

good microorganisms

food, wine, probiotics, yogurt, cheese, etc.

bacteria

* single cell prokaryotes that have a high rate of population growth; cell division occurs every 20 minutes
* can be viable for many years then germinate in response to specific environmental conditions

endospores

spores highly resistant to chemical/physical agents and the external environment

fungus

* macroscopic: mushrooms and puffballs
* microscopic: yeast and molds
* eukaryotic: having a nucleus and organelles
* dimorphic: exists in 2 forms
* single-celled like yeast
* filamentous hyphae like mold
* structure is like a small plant and has tiny branches that can expand to the air

parasite

organism that can live on or in other organisms (plant or animal)

protozoa

* larger in size compared to bacteria
* able to ingest food particles
* has a simple digestive system

viruses

have their own DNA/RNA (never both) are are able to multiple and spread quickly

cysts

wall resistant to chemical and physical changes, permitting them to survive outside of the host organism (protective coating of protozoa)

environment infectious agents can thrive

warm, moist, dark, and plenty of nutrients

breaking the infectious cycle

eliminate transmission

how do pathogens enter the body

eyes, nose, ear, broken skin, rectum

direct contact of transmission

* person to person
* sex, hand holding, kidding, contaminated needle

indirect contact of transmission

* person to object
* inanimate objectm buffets, buttons, etc.

hepatitis

* blood born type of disease
* more prevalent than HIV
* causes liver to be inflamed
* most are treatable
* worst case scenario is that it may cause liver cancer or cirrhosis

airborne

when droplets have dried up, evaporated, and contaminated are whisked into the air that you could breathe in

droplet contamination

coughing, sneezing, speaking, usually wet

where are antibodies found

saliva, tears, spinal fluid, colostrum (mothers milk)

4 stages of infectious process

* incubation
* prodromal
* full disease
* condolescent

incubation

pathogen dormant, no specific symptoms

prodromal

some symptoms, highly infectious (acquire)

full disease

full symptoms, highly contagious (spread/communicated)

condolescent

symptoms start to disappear, some diseases go dormant

tier 1

minimum requirement for standard precautions and PPE; PPE depends on type of infection

reverse isolation

for patients whose immunity is severely compromised

tier 2

transmission-based precautions; isolates infected individuals from other patients

airborne isolation

* SARS, small pox, TB,
* private room with negative pressure

droplet isolation

* influenza, mumps, pneumonia
* private room/shared with individual with the same infection

contact isolation

* direct: wounds, HVW, herpes
* indirect: fomites
* private/shared room with individual having the same infection

universal/standard precaution

treat everyone as if they have an infection