Infectious Diseases

In the hospital, doctors tend to be more aware of a patient’s history. This includes their possible risk factors to contagious diseases like MRSA. Besides this, doctors are also aware of which patients are at a higher risk for MRSA: those in long term care, patients with surgical wounds, and burn patients, among others. However, for community acquired MRSA, the risk factors are not always as readily identifiable, since chronic illness may not be the primary risk factor.

May Be Harder to Identify Than Hospital Strains

While flu is the illness that has been a widespread killer for centuries, Black Death also known as the plague has also tortured many souls as well. Its reach extends for centuries with a major epidemic in the 6th century in the Byzantine Empire and again in 14th century Europe. Flash forward to today and a few hundred cases each year worldwide can be attributed to the plague with the death toll at 15-20%.

Yersinia pestis is a gram negative bacterium which causes the common plague. For centuries, the host for this plague was the disgusting rat but these days other rodents share in spreading the disease like prairie dogs, rock squirrels and ground squirrels. What happens is these infected rodents are infested with fleas which nibble on some blood and skin. In turn, these fleas, now carrying the plague, hop to other hosts in search of another meal.

People who love the outdoors are most vulnerable to Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a bacterial infection which can pass to humans via a tick bite through the skin. This potentially fatal illness was named after the Rocky Mountains where the disease was first traced, although it can be found all over the country.

What happens is this: an infected tick climbs tall grass, waiting for an unsuspecting victim to pounce on and then once it has you, it latches onto your skin and slurps up some blood. Its bodily fluids are what carry the bacteria which can pass into your bloodstream.

You cannot really catch Rocky Mountain spotted fever via human to human contact. If you are lucky, you can catch the illness quickly so you experience nothing but mild symptoms. However, if left undiagnosed, it has the potentially to be really serious, even causing death in certain vulnerable individuals.

Signs and Symptoms to Watch for

It is important that all personnel understand and use the correct terms when discussing infection control. Communication is vitally important when it comes to infection control procedures and policy.

These are the most common terms and phrases and the abbreviations associated with them that are used when discussing infection control issues:

Airborne infection isolation (AII) - This is a phrase used to refer to patients who have been isolated because they are infected with airborne organisms.

Protective environment (PE) - This describes the specialized patient-care aera used in a hospital that has a positive air flow relative to the surrounding corridor.

There are some key areas in any healthcare facility in which it is important to be careful about minimizing the spread of infectious diseases. These areas are the ventilation system, the water system, areas under construction, high-risk patient care areas, operating rooms, laundry areas and areas that may be at risk during natural disasters.

It is vital that key personnel including facility managers, safety personnel, administrators and staff adhere to policy set forth regarding infection control. Policy should address the following issues for maximum infection control:

• Ventilation and water systems must be at peak performance with routine maintenance.
• There must be a multidisciplinary team that is in charge of infection-control risk assessment.
• There must be procedures in place and barriers erected during times of construction, repair, renovation or demolition to anywhere in or around the facility.