Infection Control

Overview :

The goals of infection control programs are: immunizing against preventable diseases, defining precautions that can prevent exposure to infectious agents, and restricting the exposure of health care workers to an infectious agent. An infection control practitioner is a specially trained professional, oftentimes a nurse, who oversees infection control programs.

Commonly recommended precautions to avoid and control the spread of infections include:

• Vaccinate people and pets against diseases for which a vaccine is available. As of 2003, the vaccines used against infectious diseases are very safe compared to most drugs.
• Wash hands often.
• Cook food thoroughly.
• Use antibiotics only as directed.
• See a doctor for infections that do not heal.
• Avoid areas with a lot of insects.
• Be cautious around wild or unfamiliar animals, or any animals that are unusually aggressive. Do not purchase exotic animals as pets.
• Do not engage in unprotected sex or in intravenous drug use.
• Find out about infectious diseases when you make travel plans. Travelers' advisories and adult vaccination recommendations are available on the CDC web site or by calling the CDC's telephone service at 404-332-4559.

Because of the higher risk of spreading infectious disease in a hospital setting, higher levels of precautions are taken there. Typically, health care workers wear gloves with all patients, since it is difficult to know whether a transmittable disease is present or not. Patients who have a known infectious disease are isolated to decrease the risk of transmitting the infectious agent to another person. Hospital workers who come in contact with infected patients must wear gloves and gowns to decrease the risk of carrying the infectious agent to other patients. All articles of equipment that are used in an isolation room are decontaminated before reuse. Patients who are immunocompromised may be put in protective isolation to decrease the risk of infectious agents being brought into their room. Any hospital worker with infections, including colds, are restricted from that room.

Hospital infections can also be transmitted through the air. Thus care must be taken when handling infected materials so as to decrease the numbers of infectious agents that become airborne. Special care should also taken with hospital ventilation systems to prevent recirculation of contaminated air.