Respiratory Viruses
Covering the mouth/nose when coughing or sneezing, and performing hand hygiene after hands have been in contact with respiratory secretions are examples of this.
What is: Respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette.
This protects you from germs that you could breathe in, and protects others from germs you could breathe out.
What is: A mask.
The number one way to prevent the spread of HAIs (healthcare-associated infections).
What is: Hand hygiene
Different actions that we can take to keep germs from spreading, in health care in particular.
What is: Source Control.
The process of removing dirt and some germs from surfaces or objects.
What is: Cleaning.
This is how respiratory viruses get from one person to another.
What is: Respiratory droplets (tiny droplets of water in the breath that are spread with breathing, talking, singing, coughing, sneezing).
The basic practices that apply to all patient care is referred to as this.
What is: Standard precautions.
Unless hands are visibly soiled, this is preferred for cleaning hands over soap and water.
What is: An alcohol-based hand rub.
This happens when germs, bacteria, and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.
What is: Antimicrobial resistance (AR). AR is present in every country.
The process of killing germs on surfaces or objects that is done after cleaning them.
What is : Disinfection
The COVID vaccine is recommended for both pregnant and breastfeeding patients.
What is: True. The COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant, as well as people who might become pregnant in the future.
An asymptomatic person is someone who has an infection, without any symptoms, but can still do this.
What is: Spread germs.
Alcohol-based sanitizer is effective only if made with at least this percentage of alcohol.
What is: At least 60%. Additionally, the sanitizer must be vigorously and thoroughly rubbed into the hands, not wiped off.
An easy way anyone can reduce their risk of infections and germs that cause antibacterial resistant infections.
What is (prevention strategies) hand hygiene, vaccination, using antibiotics and antifungals appropriately, using healthy practices around animals and food.
An awesome place to get grab-n-go micro learns, printables, templates, toolkits, and other resources for use in your jurisdictions.
What is: The Project Firstline website. https://www.cdc.gov/project-firstline/index.html
This is the amount of time recommended to wait between getting the flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine.
What is: None. Studies support the safety of getting a flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit. In fact, flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines may be given at the same visit.
This is the equipment that protects you and keeps germs from spreading.
What is: Personal Protective Equipment or PPE (mask, gowns, gloves). It is important to know how and when to use PPE.
If I do not have an appropriate soap, or clean water for handwashing, I can use this to clean my hands.
What is: Sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol (re "appropriate soap": any kind of plain liquid or bar soap can be used for handwashing).
This is a great resource to find disinfectants that have microbiocidal (i.e. killing) activities against specific germs.
What is: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/selected-epa-registered-disinfectants
This is about stopping germs at their source, before they can spread to other people.
What is: Source control.
This has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in those who get the flu.
What is flu vaccination. Although it is possible to still get the flu after receiving the seasonal flu vaccine, severity of illness is reduced.
Environmental IPC (infection prevention and control) is the responsibility of these healthcare workers.
What is: All healthcare workers. Housekeepers, nurses, doctors, dietary, therapists, transporters...everyone is responsible!
This should be done immediately after glove removal in patient care.
What is: Clean the hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash with soap and water.
If an environmental healthcare worker is cleaning the room of a patient who is on contact precautions for C. diff, this is the first thing the worker must do when exiting the room.
What is: Remove the gloves and clean their hands with soap and water.
These are the 3 most common blood borne pathogens contracted from needle sticks.
What are: Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.