Page 24 - 2018 Summer Employee Handbook

BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS
HEPATITIS B
What is Hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver.
It can be caused by infectious agents,
medications, or toxins. There are several
types of infectious hepatitis (A, B, non-A/
non-B and delta), but hepatitis B presents the
greatest risk to workers in the health care infection with industry.
How is HBV transmitted?
Hepatitis B is transmitted through sexual contact, needle sharing, and contaminated products. A vaccination must be offered within 10 days of initial assignment to a job where exposure to blood or other potentially contaminants be “reasonably
AIDS
What is AIDS/ARC?
AIDS is a bloodborne and a sexually transmitted disease in which a virus invades the body, damages the immune system, and allows other infectious agents to invade the body and
cause disease. ARC (AIDS Related Complex) refers to a variety of conditions caused by the AIDS virus.
How is AIDS transmitted?
The AIDS virus is spread through bodily fluids; primarily blood and semen. Although risk of transmission through other fluids has yet to be determined, all bodily fluids and tissues should be regarded as potentially infectious. AIDS is infectioustransmitted by sexual contact, needle sharing anticipated.” and contaminated blood products.
BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS are any pathogenic microorganisms in human blood that can infect and cause disease in humans. They include the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS and the hepatitis B virus (HBV) as well as hepatitis C, malaria, syphilis and other diseases.
Disease can also be transmitted through other potentially infectious materials, including human bodily fluids such as semen, vaginal secretions, saliva and any other bodily fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood. Transmission can also occur through unfixed tissue or organs from human and any HIV containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, HIV or HBV containing culture medium or other solutions.
Who is at Risk?
Workers at risk of exposure to blood, bodily fluids or needle sticks are at the highest risk of infection. They include, but are not limited to, nurses, physicians, dentists, podiatrists, laboratory and blood bank technicians, medical examiners, morticians, housekeepers, laundry workers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, lifeguards and others whose job might require first-response medical care and potential contact with blood or bodily fluid.
What is Occupational Exposure?
Piercing the skin or a mucous membrane through such events as cuts, abrasions, human bites and needle sticks (parenteral contact) as well as reasonably anticipated contact with skin, eyes, nose, mouth or contact with blood, saliva or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee’s job duties.
Employees should wear personal protective equipment to protect against such hazards (i.e. specialized clothing) that will not permit blood or other potentially infectious materials to pass through to or reach one’s work clothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth or other mucous membranes under normal conditions of use and for the duration of time the protective equipment will be used. General work clothes are not intended to function in this manner. Engineering controls must also be in place to insure that equipment is available to isolate or remove bloodborne pathogens from the workplace. The employer shall provide (at no cost to the employee) and must ensure use of such personal protective equipment such as, but not limited to:
Gloves where blood, blood products or bodily fluids will be handled; hypoallergenic
gloves, glove liners or other alternatives for employees who are allergic to the standard gloves are usually provided by employers.
Gowns, masks and eye protectors for procedures that could involve more extensive contact of blood or bodily fluids. Pocket masks, mouthpieces, resuscitation bags or other ventilation devices used to resuscitate a patient to minimize the exposure during emergency rescue breathing. Employers should place these devices where the need for resuscitation is likely.
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