Asepsis and infection

• Resident Flora the collective vegetation in a given area) in one part of the body
• Skin - Staphylococcus Epidemidis, Propionibacterium Acne
• Nasal passages - Staphylococcus Aureus
• Oropharynx & Mouth - Streptococcus Pneumoniae
• Intestine - Eubacterium, Lactobacillus, Enterobacteriaceae
• Urethral orifice - Staphylococcus Epidermidis
• Vagina - Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Candida Albicans
• Asepsis- is the freedom from disease-causing microorganisms.
• Aseptic Technique- used to decrease the possibility of transferring microorganisms from one place to another.

   
• Medical Asepsis: All practices intended to confine a specific microorganism to a specific area

  Limiting the number, growth, and transmission of microorganisms.
• Objects are referred to as clean (the absence of almost all microorganisms)
• Surgical asepsis or sterile technique_ Practices that keep an area or object free of all microorganisms

   Practices that destroy all microorganisms and spores

   Used for all procedures involving sterile areas of the body
• Sepsis- is a condition in which acute organ dysfunction occurs secondary to infection.
• Infection- is the growth of microorganisms (infectious agent) in body tissue where they are not usually found.
• ASYMPTOMATIC OR SUBCLINICAL- when the microorganism produces no clinical evidence of disease. Some can cause considerable damage
• · DISEASE- A detectable alteration in normal tissue function
• Communicable Disease- when an infectious agent can be transmitted to an individual by direct or indirect contact or as an airborne infection.
• Pathogenicity- is the ability to produce disease; thus, a pathogen is a microorganism that causes disease.
• · True pathogen –causes disease or infection in a healthy individual
• · Opportunistic pathogen- causes disease only in a susceptible individual

   
• Bacteria- most common infection causing microorganisms

        -can cause disease in humans

        -can live and be transported through air, water, food, soil, body tissues and fluids, and inanimate objects.

   
• Viruses- consist primarily of nucleic acid and therefore must enter living cells in order to reproduce.

      -common virus families include the rhinovirus (causes common colds), hepatitis, herpes, and human immunodeficiency virus.
• Fungi- includes yeasts and molds
• Parasites- live on other living organisms

         -they include protozoa such as the one that causes malaria, helminthes (worms), and arthropods (mites, fleas, ticks)
• Colonization

  – the process by which strains of microorganisms become resident flora.
• LOCAL INFECTION

  ü Limited to the specific part of the body where the microorganisms remain.
• SYSTEMIC INFECTION

  If the microorganisms spread and damage different parts of the body
• Bacteremia- when person’s blood reveals microorganisms
• Septicemia- when bacteremia results in systemic infection
• ACUTE INFECTION

  Generally appear suddenly or last a short time.
•  CHRONIC INFECTION

  May occur slowly, over a very long period, and may last months or years.
• NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS

  -Infections that originate in the hospital
• ENDOGENOUS – nosocomial infections originated from the client’s themselves
• v EXOGENOUS – from the hospital environment and hospital personnel
• • World Health Organization (WHO)major regulatory agency at the international level
• • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)principal national public health agency concerned with disease prevention andcontrol in the US
• Iatrogenic Infectionsdirect result of diagnostic or therapeutic procedures
• Portal of exit- Before an infection can establish itself in a host, the microorganisms must leave the reservoir.
• .Direct Transmission - involves immediate and direct transfer ofmicroorganisms from individual to individual through touching, biting,kissing, or sexual intercourse.
• Droplet Spread - is also a form of direct transmission but can occur onlyif the source and the host are within 1 m (3 ft) of each other