HIV TB Essay

With the close proximity infection range TB is known for completes the remainder of the epidemiologic triangle. Overcrowded environments are the coal to the fire of this transmittable disease with outbreaks capable of occurring, infection hundreds. Common symptoms of this active form of tuberculosis include: weight loss, coughing, fatigue, fever, night sweats, chills, and loss of appetite (MayoClinic, 2014). The Mayo Clinic also states that it is believed that 2 billion (one third) of the world population is living with Latent TB (2014). This emphasizes the need for public health and community involvement in order to completely abolish this disease from our planet.

(McMurray, 2007). “The agent in this study is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an acid fast aerobic rod that reproduces slowly and is hypersensitive to heat and ultraviolet light. TB primarily affects the respiratory system; however, it can also affect the pericardium, lymph nodes, meninges, kidneys, intestines, bones, joints, and reproductive organs” (The Merck Manual, 2014). “The transmission of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis is spread from person to person via airborne droplets through actions such as coughing, talking and sneezing. The smaller the droplet, the longer it can stay in the air after the infected person has left the area. This causes an increase in the probability of inhalation by another individual. Passing TB from a family member or co-worker is more likely than a stranger in a store or on the streets”. (Reichler et. al, 2002). Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the infectious disease agent, is readily transmitted to susceptible humans, the host, through respiratory exposure in communal settings or public gatherings, the environment. Individuals with compromised immune systems, such as cancer, being on corticosteroid therapy, and HIV/AIDS, are at greatest risk for getting TB infection. Healthcare workers are continuously exposed to illnesses at the hospitals and long term care facilities, which puts them at risk for

A1.    The current practice in the emergency department that I work in when admitting a patient to the medical floor goes something like this.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top causes of death worldwide (WHO, 2016). In 2015, TB affected 10.4 million people and was the cause of death for 1.8 of them (WHO, 2016). TB is spread by air, what makes it contagious and dangerous. In order to prevent the spread of TB and support for individuals with TB as well as their families, the city of Toronto developed programs which are definitely based on Florence Nightingale’s theories regarding ventilation, clean air, observation of the sick and food.

These potentially infectious items need to be dealt with as soon as possible to reduce the risk of cross contamination and infection (HSE 2011). Standard precautions and principles must be adhered to, not only to protect the patient but also to protect members of the team who care for them.

Most of the germs causing bacteria are transmitted to the patient by hands during the patient care (World Health Organization, 2016). The surfaces in patient rooms, the health care workers (HCWs) clothing, and the instruments used by the HCW can be contaminated. Proper hand hygiene is needed to prevent or reduce the transmission of HCAIs in patients. Urinary tract infection, surgical site infection, pneumonia and infections of the bloodstream can be contacted through improper hand hygiene. HCAIs are the major cause of morbidity and mortality (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), 2016). These infections cost the health care system billions of dollars every year and several losses of lives. It can have disastrous emotional, financial and medical impact on patients and their family members. These infections jeopardize the safety and care for patients (WHO, 2016). Hand hygiene is the first line of defense against infections. Before contact with patient, hand hygiene should be performed by hand washing with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand rub. Hands should be disinfected before patient contact, prior to and following the insertion of any invasive devices, before using gloves for central intravascular catheter insertion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016). Hand should be cleaned following checking vital signs, contact with mucous

Some of these units can connect to local exhaust ventilation systems (e.g. hoods, booths, tents) or have inlet designs that allow close placement to the patient in order to assist with source control” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015, n.p.). The overwhelmeing response to a flu outbreak would also cause an inpouring of patients to the hospitals entry points and therefore triage practices must be reevaluated. Makeshift triage units must be arranged to have ample space while keeping new admits quarantined for further testing. Major medical facilities would want to keep the virus out and away from other vulnerable patients seeking treatment, “Eliminating the potential source of exposure ranks highest in the hierarchy of controls” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015, n.p.). Therefore, at the entrance of the triage/staging area, patients can be given a mask and begin to be evaluated while minimizing risk of furthering others to exposure. It is essential that during a high exposure of the flu virus, that medical personnel wear personal protective measures along with the those coming into contact with the public, such as, wearing a mask, coughing into the crook of an arm while sanitizing hands frequently. Influenza is very contagious and is transmitted through droplets when an infectious host speaks, coughs, breathes or sneezes thus the

Communicable Disease Paper Tuberculosis  Communicable diseases rely on fluid exchange, contaminated substance, or close contact to travel from an infected carrier to a healthy individual. Many people have never heard of a disease called tuberculosis (TB) or not fully aware how serious this disease really is. I will briefly summarize the research that was conducted on tuberculosis by describing the disease in details and discussing efforts to control it, indentify environmental factors related to tuberculosis, and explain the influence of lifestyles, socioeconomic status, as well as disease management. I will also briefly describe what public health departments are doing to reduce the threat, and include data, evidence, and plan to

This memo/email is to confirm our conversation of today’s date regarding the appropriate use of PPE in regards to our isolation masks. It was reported today by our infection control nurse BarbaraRuber that she has counseled you on many occasion in regards to wearing our PPE isolation mask outside of our patient care rooms. I have shared the expectations with you about correcting these issues going forward in your role as a respiratory therapist in our respiratory department.

25 years ago taking care of a patient infected with TB for a nurse was very complicated and the nurse would be late in completing her assignments due to time consuming isolating techniques at complete bed rest and facing an anxious patient for months and even years making the job undesirable and there was also a danger the nurse who is treating TB patient would infect herself with TB. But the breakthrough in the chemotherapy in the treatment of TB has distinctly affected the role of nurse.

Where health care provider may do further investigation to determine the type of TB the person has.

Primary: to increase the protection for: 1) contact patient from TB index patient, and 2) for DM patient from contracted TB

Describe different types of infection control precautions. Why is it important to follow infection control guidelines? Describe the importance of hand-washing.

Tuberculosis or TB is a bacterial infection that spreads through the bloodstream and is commonly found in the lungs (webMD.com). This infection is highly contagious can spread rapidly through air, but remain undetected because the bacteria can live in the body in an inactive form (webMD.com). This disease originated in Russian prisons, where inmates would be malnourished, alcoholics, and smokers (Willumsen & Shinefield, 2001). Since the bacteria lives in the body in the inactive form, people who are exposed and may have TB never develops any symptoms (webMD.com). The bacterium becomes active when the immune system weakens (mayoclinic.org). The active form of TB can result in coughs, sneezes, and spits (mayoclinic.org).

Tuberculosis is among the fatal diseases that are spread through the air. It’s contagious, meaning that it spreads from one infected individual to another, and at times it spreads very fast. In addition to being contagious, the disease is an opportunist infection as it takes advantage of those with weak defense mechanism, and especially the ones with terminal diseases like HIV and AIDS. Tuberculosis is therefore among the major concerns for the World Health Organization due to its contagious nature (World Health Organization 1).