| Microorganisms | tiny (usually microscopic) entities capable of carrying on living process. |
| infection prevention & control | policies to minimize spread of heath care associated/community acquired infections. |
| medical asepsis | techniques that prevent growth & transmission of pathogenic organisms. |
| clean technique | medical asepsis |
| surgical asepsis | techniques that destroy all microorganisms and spores. |
| sterile technique | surgical asepsis |
| disinfection | use of chemicals that can be applied to stuff to destroy microorganisms. |
| antiseptic | prevent growth and reproduction of microorganisms, can be used on humans. |
| spore | a round body formed by bacteria. forms as big as bacteria cell then takes that cell over. |
| reservoir | natural habitat of any microorganism that promotes growth &reproduction. |
| carrier/vector | person/animal that doesn't become ill but carries and spreads an organism, causing disease in others. |
| contaminated vehicle | how microorganisms are carried & transported to next host, once left the reservoir. |
| contamination | condition of being soiled, stained, touched/exposed by harmful agents. makes an object potentially unsafe for use. |
| fomite | a vehicle that is an inanimate (nonliving) object. |
| host | organism where another organism is nourished and harbored. |
| healthcare associated infection | (nosocomial infections) infections patients get while at a health care facility. |
| virulent | exceedingly pathogenic |
| exogenous | growing outside the body |
| endogenous | growing inside the body |
| Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) studies | US Dept. of Health & Human Services provide facilities for investigation, prevention, and control of disease. |
| standard precautions when someone is infected | accurate identification of all patients involved, "universal precautions" & "body substance isolation" |
| standard precautions | hand hygiene, gloves, masks, eye protection & gowns. |
| isolation transmission categories | airborne, droplet, contact |
| sterilization | methods used to kill all microorganisms, including spores. |
| asepsis | absence of pathogenic organisms |
| pathogenic | of a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism causing disease |
| nonpathogenic microorganisms | harmless (do not produce disease) |
| pathogenic microorganisms | cause disease/infection |
| infection chain of events | INFECTIOUS AGENTS (microorganisms) > RESIRVIOR (infected individual) > EXIT ROUTE (blood, secretion, urine) > METHOD OF TRANSMISSION (hands, food, air, needle) > ENTRANCE (mouth, cut) > HOST (person) > |
| virus | smallest known agents that cause disease (DNA/RNA) |
| fungi | most plentiful forms of life. most common disease found in humans. (some harmless) most frequently involve skin, hair and nails. |
| protozoa | single celled animals existing everywhere in nature, responsible for malaria, ambeic dysentery, and African sleeping sickness. |
| measures to reduce reservoirs of infectioin | bathing, dressing changes, discard of contaminated needles, beside kept clean and dry, bottled solutions stored properly, surgical wounds maintained, drainage bottles and bags disposed of. |
| localized infectious process | (symptoms such as pain/tenderness) infection in one spot of the body. proper care helps control and maintain spread, minimize illness. |
| systemic infectious process | affects the entire body, potential to be fatal. use antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals. minimize spread. |
| stages of infectious process | incubation, prodromal, acute, convalescence |
| inflammatory response | neutralizes & eliminates pathogens, body's way of repairing calls & tissues. |
| signs of inlammation | redness, pain, swelling, heat, loss of function. |
| viruses are not killed by what | antibiotics |
| infection control nurse | educate patients about infection and techniques to control the spread. |
| occupational health services | take control of the infection and measures to protect health care worker, such as Hep B vaccine availability, |
| most common type of HAI | MRSA (staphylococcus aureus) |
| how do you get Rocky Mountain Spotted fever? | wood tick |
| static | that which cannot move or grow |
| portal of exit | microorganism needs a portal of exit to escape from the reservoir |
| portal of entrance | once a microorganism has left the reservoir it needs a portal of entrance to enter the new host |
