Module 1

• Infection


  Implantation of an organism in the tissue of the host resulting to signs and symptoms
• Carrier


  Harbors an organism and capable of transmitting it to a susceptible host without showing manifestations of a disease
• Communicable disease


  An illness caused by an infectious agent transmitted directly or indirectly to a well person through an agency
• Contagious disease


  A disease that is easily transmitted from one person to another through direct or indirect means
• Infectious disease


  Transmitted not only by ordinary contact but requires inoculation of the organism through a break on the skin or mucous membrane
• Contact


  Any person or animal who is in close association with an infected person, animal, or freshly soiled materials
• Disinfection


  The destruction of pathogenic microorganism outside the body by directly applying physical or chemical means
• Types of disinfection

  • Concurrent
  • Terminal
• Concurrent disinfection


  A method of disinfection done immediately after the infected individual discharges infectious material/secretions
• Terminal disinfection


  Applied when the patient is no longer the source of infection
• Habitat


  A place where an organism lives or where an organism is usually found
• Host


  A person, animal, or plant on which a parasite depends for its survival
• Isolation


  The separation from other persons of an individual suffering from a communicable disease
• Quarantine


  The limitation of freedom of movement of persons or animals which have been exposed to communicable disease/s for a period of time equivalent to the longest incubation period of that disease
• Reservoir


  Composed of one or more species of animal or plant in which an infectious agent lives and multiplies for survival and reproduces itself in such a manner that it can be transmitted to man
• Surveillance


  The act of watching
• Effects of infection

  • Microorganisms compete with the host's metabolism
  • Cellular damage produced by the microbes
  • Intracellular multiplication
• Types of infection

  • Localized - the infection is confined to a certain body part only
  • Systemic - the infection spread to the entire body parts
• Incidences of infection

  • Sporadic diseases - diseases that occur occasionally and irregularly with no specific pattern
  • Epidemic diseases - affects several countries or continents. "Global outbreak"
  • Endemic diseases - are those that are present in a population or community at times. They usually involve few people during specific periods
  • Pandemic - diseases that occur in a greater number than what is expected in a specific area over a specific time
• Why infections occur

  • Some bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics
  • Some microbes such as influenza have so many different strains that a single vaccine cannot protect against all of them
  • Most viruses resist antiviral drugs
  • New infectious agents occasionally arise such as HIV and Corona virus
  • Some microbes localize in the areas of the body that make treatment difficult
  • Opportunistic organisms can cause infection in immunocompromised patients
  • Most people have not received immunization
  • Increased air travel can cause the spread of the virulent organism to a heavily populated area in hours
  • Use of biological warfare and bioterrorism with organism such as anthrax and plague is an increasing threat to public health and safety throughout the world
  • The expanded use of immunosuppressive drugs and invasive procedures increases the risk of infection
• The nurse's responsibility

  • The nature of the specific microorganism and its capacity for survival both within and outside the body
  • The most effective method of destruction of the specific organism
  • How the organism invades the host and its source of escape from the body
  • The incubation period, prodromata, and the length of communicability
  • How a specific drug alters the clinical signs and the infectious course of the disease
  • The most recent methods and concepts of prophylaxis for communicable diseases
  • The rationale and control measures, including isolation techniques
• Nursing care

  • Self-protection
  • Prevention of the spread of the infectious agent through medical asepsis and concurrent disinfection
  • Physical care of the patient
  • The provision of spiritual aspect of care