Droplet Precautions for Control of Infection

Droplet precautions or airborne infection control is one of the health practices that we really need nowadays. A sneeze or cough from an infected person could spray germ-loaded droplets into the air because viruses and bacteria that infects the lungs, trachea, throat, sinuses and nasal passages are present in mucus and saliva.

Why airborne infections are so common? In almost every public places people cough and sneeze, loading the air with with droplets of saliva for other people to inhale. Number of respiratory infections can be impressively lessened  if all of us realizes the danger of droplet infection.

Droplets caused by sneezing or coughing are usually large (more than 5 microns) and mostly covers only a short distance (about 3-6 feet). Direct inhalation of infected droplets causes the highest risk of transmission that occurs when you are too close to infected person after sneezing or coughing. Settled droplets on surrounding surfaces could also cause infection.

Droplet precautions or airborne infection control should be practiced. Nose and mouth should be covered during a sneeze or cough with a tissue paper then dispose the infected tissue paper properly after. You may be an infected individual or not, hand washing is really important too to for prevention and control of diseases.

Get Rid of Arthropod- borne Diseases

Arthropod- borne diseases are carried by mosquitos, ticks, mites, lice, house fly, cockroach, fleas, kissing bugs, reduviid bugs, tsetse flies, phlebotomine sandflies, black flies and deer flies. Some examples of arthropod-borne diseases are dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, west nile fever, typhoid, dysentery, epidemin typhus, trench fever, filariasis, spotted fever, bubonic plague, murine typhus, and African sleeping sickness.

These arthropods carry diseases in three different ways. First, the pathogenic organism experience a full of twist and turns life cycle that involves an insect in certain stages and some stages in human host. Best example of arthropod- borne diseases for this method of transmission is malaria.

In second method insect is an alternate host. Organisms that causes infectious diseases are carried as internal parasites in insects. Infected arthropods could infect humans as they have their bloody-meal. Examples of arthropod- borne diseases for this method of transmission are yellow fever, bubonic plague and typhus.

In third method of transmission arthropods acts as mechanical carriers of various infectious agents. House fly and cockroach are examples of mechanical carriers. In this method insects take a trip from source of infection like garbage to foods or go directly to a person or on things that a person usually touch. Microorganisms are carried on their sticky feet or on the bodies of mechanical carriers. Examples of arthropod- borne diseases for this method of transmission are typhoid and dysentery.

Here are some examples of arthropods and arthropod-borne diseases that could infect humans:

Mosquito- Dengue, Filariasis, West Nile fever, Yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, Ross River fever and St Louis encephalitis

Tick- Lyme, Relapsing fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Tick-borne encephalitis

Body louse- Epidemic typhus, Plague, Trench fever

Flea- Endemic typhus, Murine typhus, Bubonic plague

Sandfly- Leishmaniasis, Bartonellosis/Oroya fever, Sandfly fever

Black fly- Onchocerciasis (River blindness)

Tsetse fly- Trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness)

House fly and cockroaches- typhoid, dysentery, etc

Be healthy by getting rid of the carriers of arthropod- borne diseases.