Bloodborne pathogens for school employees - refresher...Bloodborne Pathogens for School Employees -...

Bloodborne Pathogens for School Employees - Refresher

Introduction

To protect workers from the risks associated with communicable diseases transmitted through blood or bodily fluids, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed the BloodbournePathogens Standard (Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations 1910.1030).

The purpose of this is to provide refresher training on bloodborne pathogens. This course addresses the following topics:

Types of Bloodborne Pathogens

Workplace Transmission

Prevention

How to Respond to an Exposure



A pathogen is an organism that causes disease. Pathogens carried by blood or bodily fluids are known as bloodbornepathogens. When one person’s infected blood or bodily fluid enters another person’s body, an infection may result. Some of these infections can be life threatening. The three types of bloodborne pathogens of concern to school employees are:

Hepatitis B (HBV)

Hepatitis C (HCV)

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)



Hepatitis B (HPV)

Hepatitis B (HBV) is a serious illness that infects a person’s liver. HBV is passed from one person to another through direct exposure to an infected person’s blood, semen, vaginal fluid or saliva. The symptoms of HBV include:

Fatigue

Appetite loss

Nausea

Vomiting

Stomach or joint pain

Tenderness near the liver

Jaundice (yellow skin and eyes)

Dark urine

Dark colored stool

Bloodborne Pathogens for School Employee - Refresher


Hepatitis C (HCV)

Hepatitis C (HCV) is a serious, often fatal disease that infects and damages the liver. Most people with HCV do not have symptoms, or the symptoms appear many years after infection. When symptoms do occur, they may include:

Fever

Fatigue

Nausea, vomiting

Loss of appetite

Abdominal pain

Dark urine

Joint pain



Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a pathogen that attacks the body’s immune system without treatment, the immune system of an HIV-infected person eventually become weak and unable to ward off infection and disease. When this happens, a person is diagnosed with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Signs and symptoms may include:

Fever

Headache

Sore throat

Swollen lymph glands

Rash

To date, there are no reported cases of HIV being transmitted in a schoo

To date, there are no reported cases of HIV being transmitted in a school setting.


Workplace Transmission of Infectious

Materials

Exposure Incident

An exposure incident is defined by OSHA

as contact with blood or other potentially

infectious materials that occurs specifically

through contact with the eyes, mouth or

other mucous membranes – or non-intact

skin – and which results from the

performance of an employee’s duties.


Workplace Transmission of Infectious Materials

How Bloodborne Pathogens Enter Your Body

BloodbornePathogens can enter a body through:

Piercing of the skin by sharp objects or needles

Contact with the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose or eyes

Human bites

Open cuts and nicks

Abrasions

Acne

Pathogens can enter a body by direct transmission for instance, if someone is stuck by a contaminated needle. Pathogens can also enter a body via indirect transmission – for example, if a pathogen is transferred from a contaminated surface into someone’s mucous membranes, and then into that person’s body.

The hepatitis B virus can survive on a

surface for at least a week.


Preventing the Transmission of Infectious Materials

Reducing Your Risk

Universal precautions significantly minimize the risk for everyone. To exercise universal precautions you should treat all bodily fluids as if they contained an infectious pathogen, and you should treat every person as if he or she infected with a contagious disease.

There are many actions employees can take to lower their risk of exposure to bloodbornepathogens. These preventative measures include:

Engineering and work practice controls

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Handwashing

Good housekeeping

Hepatitis B vaccination


Preventing the Transmission of

Infectious Materials

Engineering and Work Practice Controls

Engineering controls are devices that

isolate or remove bloodborne pathogen

hazards from the workplace. For example,

used needles are disposed of using sharps

containers.

Work-practice controls are practices that reduce the likelihood of exposure by

specifying the way a task should be

performed. They include procedures for

handwashing, laundry handling, and

proper ways to clean contaminated

materials.

The effectiveness of engineering controls and work practice controls depend on your knowledge of them and your correct implementation and use of them.



Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Employers are required to provide personal protective equipment(PPE) to employees in work settings where there is a risk of occupational exposure to blood or bodily fluids.

PPE includes items such as gloves, gowns and masks. These materials are to be supplied, cleaned, repaired, and replaced by an employer as needed, at no cost to the employee.

If you are not sure how to find or cannot access PPE, contact your building, administrator or supervisor.



Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), continued

Gloves are the most frequently used type of PPE. Gloves must be worn when a person anticipates contact with:

Blood

Bodily fluids

Potentially infectious materials

Mucous membranes

Non-intact skin

Single-use disposable gloves are for first-aid procedures. Heavy-duty utility gloves should be used for housekeeping.

Because gloves may be torn or become punctured, any cuts or abrasions on the hands should be covered before putting on the gloves. Gloves that are defective, or become torn or punctured should be promptly removed. A new pair should be used each time there is contact with a different student.


Preventing The Transmission of Infectious Materials

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), continued

Glove Removal

Removing your gloves in a safe manner is as important as wearing them. To remove gloves safely:

Remove the first glove from top to bottom by pinching and pulling(starting at the wrist) and holding it in the hand that remains gloved.

With your exposed hand, grab the inside of the second glove (starting at the wrist) and pull it off from the inside. Your glove will turn inside-out as you remove it. If done correctly, the first glove will be inside the second glove and neither of the outer surfaces will be exposed.

Immediately dispose of the gloves in the proper location.

Promptly wash your hands.

Use an antiseptic hand cleanser or towelette when a sink is not available. This is only a temporary measure, however, and your hands should be washed as soon as possible.



Good Housekeeping

Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces. All surfaces that become contaminated with bodily fluids or potentially infectious materials must be cleaned and decontaminated immediately.

First, thoroughly wipe the area with soap and water. Next, disinfect with an EPA-approved solution. Allow the area to thoroughly air-dry. The materials used to clean the area should be disinfected after each use, or disposed of as contaminated waste.

If an EPA approved solution is not available, mix a half cup of a standard household bleach with one gallon of water (while waring gloves). However this type of solution will lose its effectiveness after 24 hours.



Good Housekeeping

When disposing of contaminated waste, use biohazard infectious waste bags (marked with the biohazard symbol). When not available, double-bag the waste and apply a biohazard label(as seen on right) to mark the bag as containing potentially harmful items. If labels are not available, mark the bag as containing infectious waste in a way that is easy to notice and impossible to miss.

Sharp objects (sharps) such as razors or needles should never be disposed of in bags. They can easily poke through a bag and puncture a person’s skin. A sharps container should be used for the disposal of sharp items. Sharps containers are often red and located in school clinics.

Wear gloves when handling any bag or container that contains contaminated materials. Bloodborne pathogens may contact the outer surface of the bag or container as contaminated materials are placed inside of it.



Hepatitis B Vaccinations

Employers are required to offer the hepatitis B vaccine to employees with a high risk of occupational exposure to blood or bodily fluids (within 10 days of assignment, free of charge). It is up to the school district to identify which employees fit this category.

The hepatitis B vaccine is given to adults in a standard dose of three injections. After the first injection, the second is given one month later, and the third injection is given six months later. Mild side effects include soreness and swelling at the injection site, fever, headache and dizziness.

The vaccine is considered very safe and provides greater then 90% protection to those who are immunized prior to an exposure. It may be effective even when given after an exposure. The vaccine provides long-term immunity, which is suspected (though not scientifically proven) to be lifelong.

If you have any questions about the Hepatitis B vaccine or the risks associated with it, ask your school nurse or immediate supervisor.

Blood borne Pathogens for School Employees - Refresher

How to respond to an Exposure

Although most occupational exposures to blood or bodily fluids do not result in infections, any exposure should be treated as a medical emergency. Follow these steps after any exposure.

1. Flush the exposed area with water. If the exposure is to your eyes, irrigate the exposed eye (or eyes) with clean water, saline or sterile irrigating solution for 15 minutes.

2. Wash the area thoroughly with soap and water. Anti-bacterial soap is recommended.

3. Report the incident to the person or office responsible for managing exposures as soon as possible. Report the exposure right away so any needed medical testing, treatment and recordkeeping can take place.


How to Respond to an Exposure

Employees have a right to a post-exposure medical evaluation and follow-up (at no cost to the employee). This includes:

Laboratory tests

Confidential medical evaluations

Identifying and testing the source individual (if feasible)

Testing the exposed employee’s blood (with employee consent)

Post exposure prophylaxis

Offering counseling

Evaluating reported illnesses

All diagnoses must remain confidential.Post-exposure prophylaxis: Employees who are exposed to bloodborne pathogens

may be given medication. Guidelines from the U.S. Public Health Service define the situations when medication is recommended.

Bloodborne pathogens for school employees - refresher...Bloodborne Pathogens for School Employees -...

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