Infection Prevention Study Materials

INFECTION PREVENTION A. Definition Infection is an invasion of the body by pathogens or microorganisms that are capable of causing illness. Infection is also called asymptomatic if the microorganism fails and causes serious injury to cells or tissue. Disease will arise if the pathogen multiplies and causes changes in normal tissue. B. Chain of Infection 1. Infectious Agent Infection occurs due to the presence of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. Microorganisms in the skin can be resident or transient flora. Resident organisms reproduce in the superficial skin layer, but 10 - 20% inhabit the epidermal layer. Transient organisms attach to the skin when a person contact with other people or objects in the course of normal activities or life. Some agents that can cause infection include: 1.1 Bacteria 1.2. Virus 1.3. Parasites and Fungi 2.Reservoir A reservoir is a place where pathogens are able to survive but may or may not reproduce. The most common reservoir is the human body. Various microorganisms live on the skin and in body cavities, fluids and secretions. To reproduce rapidly microorganisms require a suitable environment, including food, oxygen, water, the right temperature, pH and light. 3. Exit Portal Once microorganisms find a place to grow and reproduce, they must find a way out if they enter another host and cause disease. Microorganisms can exit through various places, such as the skin and mucous membranes, respiratory tract, urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, reproductive tract and blood. 4. Method of transmission Transmission of infection is the transmission of disease germs (phatogenic microbes) from sufferers, sick animals or other reservoirs of disease germs, to healthy humans in several ways: 4.1 Through bodily contact - Direct contact - Indirect contact 4.2 Through food and drink 4.3 Through insects 4.4 By air 5.Login Portal Organisms can enter the body via the same routes used to exit. For example, when a contaminated needle touches a client's skin, the organisms enter the body. Any obstruction to the flow of urine allows the organisms to move to the urethra. Mistakes in applying a sterile dressing to a wound open ones allow pathogens to enter unprotected tissue. Factors that reduce the body's resistance increase the opportunity for pathogens to enter the body. 6. Vulnerable Host A person's exposure to infection depends on susceptibility and depends on the individual's degree of resistance to the pathogen, even though a person is in constant contact with large numbers of microorganisms, infection will not occur until the individual is susceptible to that number of microorganisms. The more virulent a microorganism is, the more likely it is to appear in the care environment. C. INFECTION PROCESS Infection occurs progressively, the severity of the client's illness depends on the level of infection, the pathogenicity of the microorganism and the susceptibility of the host. The infection process has certain stages, namely: Incubation Period, Prodomal Stage, Illness Stage, Recovery Stage D. DEFENSE AGAINST INFECTION The body has normal defenses against infection, namely: Normal Flora, Body System Defense, Inflammation, Immune Response E. NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS Nosocomial infections are infections that occur in hospitals originating from hospital facilities or health workers or other patients. Hospitals are the place where infections are most likely to occur because of the high population of microorganisms with virulent types that may be resistant to antibiotics. 1. Nosocomial infections can be exogenous or endogenous. 2. Source of nosocomial infection - Patient,Patients are the first element that can infect other patients, health workers, visitors or other health equipment. - Health workers,Health workers can spread infections through direct contact which can transmit various germs to other places. - Visitors,Visitors can spread infections acquired from outside into the hospital environment or vice versa, those acquired from inside the hospital to outside the hospital. - Other Sources,Another source referred to here is the hospital environment which includes the general environment or cleanliness conditions of the hospital or equipment in the hospital brought by visitors or health workers to patients, and vice versa.