Infection Control Medical Therapeutics Unit 2

Infection Control Activity Complete the Activity Write a reflection on the findings

What is infection Control? Infection control is an essential component of any health care delivery. Infection control measures can be as simple as hand washing and as sophisticated as high-level disinfection of surgical instruments. Implementing these measures can prevent transmission of disease in health care settings and the community.

World Health Organizaton Infection prevention and control measures aim to ensure the protection of those who might be vulnerable to acquiring an infection both in the general community and while receiving care due to health problems, in a range of settings. The basic principle of infection prevention and control is hygiene.

Steps to Infection Control

Influenza and its Threat to Mankind

The Seasonal Flu Despite vaccines and advances in medicine, every year 300 million to 1 billion people world-wide get sick from the flu; that's between 5 and 15% of the human population. Some years are worse than others but the seasonal flu causes between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths each year. The U.S. is not immune from influenza. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year 41,400 Americans die from the seasonal flu.

The Seasonal Flu Vaccines protect people from getting sick but they don't kill the viruses which can continue to live in various animal populations. Animals harbouring the influenza virus such as wild birds, pigs and chickens can have few symptoms or they are not sick at all, making it difficult to detect. The viruses mutate frequently and some of these mutations allow them to cross from one species to another eventually making there way to humans.

One of the more lethal strains is the Influenza A virus H5N1, known as avian influenza. An adapted strain of the H5N1 known as the Bird Flu, is extremely dangerous because it can cause illness in humans and many other animal species. Having first appeared in animals in Asia the bird flu killed hundreds of millions of animals before it was first detected in the human population. The mortality rate from the H5N1 Avian influenza virus is very high, with 30% to 80% of the people infected dying from the disease. Fortunately, it has only spread to several hundred people since it was first discovered.

Influenza is a respiratory disease with symptoms that last one to two weeks. Seven Types of Symptoms of Influenza A fever or feeling feverish Chills A cough or sore throat A runny or stuffy nose Fatigue Headaches or body aches Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea The flu and the common cold have similar symptoms. As a general rule, the flu is worse than a common cold.

Common complications of the flu are pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, dehydration, and the worsening of chronic illnesses. One should seek medical attention immediately if any of the following symptoms appear: Purple or blue discoloration of the lips Pain or pressure in the chest, abdomen or neck Severe or persistent vomiting Fever over 102 degrees Difficulty breathing Sudden dizziness Confusion Seizures

The flu spreads when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks and droplets containing the influenza virus are inhaled by another person. Prevention The best defense against the flu is vaccination. Other preventive measures include: avoid exposure live a healthy life style get enough sleep eat well

Treatment Treatment for the flu starts with bed rest, drinking clear fluids to prevent dehydration, and taking over-the- counter medicines to help treat symptoms. Examples of this include: A humidifier can make breathing easier. Salt water gargles will help with sore throats. Fevers and aches can be reduced with pain relievers.

Each year scientists are on the lookout for new influenza viruses. They create vaccines for these new viruses and vaccinate through flu shots that people get each fall. Doctors attempt to find all the new viruses, but sometimes they can't. It is also possible that a new virus that is very infectious and very lethal, like the virus portrayed in the movie Contagion, will spread before the doctors even know it exists. Scientists rate the danger of a strain of a virus using two measures: how infectious it is (how easily it passes from one person to another) and how lethal it is (what percentage of people die once they become ill).

Pandemic A pandemic is a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high portion of the human population.

Pandemic In the last 100 years there have been four influenza pandemics. Here they are compared to the seasonal flu in the table below. Name YearsPeople infected % of world population Deaths Death rate Seasonal FluEvery year 300 million to 1 billion 5-15% 250,000– 500,000 < 0.1% Spanish Flu million33% - 40% 20 to 100 million > 2.5% Asian Flu Unknown 2 million< 0.1% Hong Kong Flu Unknown 1 million< 0.1% Swine Flu , % 14,000 to 18, %

The Spanish Flu Pandemic The Spanish Flu in 1918 was the worst flu pandemic in modern history. More people died from the Spanish Flu pandemic than from the hostilities in World War I. 675,000 people died from the pandemic in the U.S. The average life expectancy in the U.S. was cut by 11.8 years due to the Spanish Flu. The government prohibited stores from holding sales, limited funerals to 15 minutes, banned all public meetings, and restricted entry into many cities in hopes of stopping the spread of the flu. Nothing worked. Spanish influenza virus was not identified until 1933.

The Spanish Flu Pandemic Killing between 20 million and 100 million people in just one year, the Spanish Flu was one of the worst pandemics in history. It’s death toll compares to the current AIDS epidemic in which 34 million have died over 20 years.

There are, on the average, three influenza pandemics per century. All of the influenza viruses in the world are maintained in the vast aquatic bird population, and periodically they can transmit to other species. So even though some of these viruses are ancient, they still have the capacity to evolve, or to acquire new genes and new hosts. The potential is still there for the catastrophe of 1918 to happen again.

How can we teach hygeine When is it imporatant to teach/learn? How do we teach it? Make either a lesson plan of short story!