Disease transmission microorganisms

The package must also prevent the entry of organisms for example, packaging of sterile products must be microorganism proof—hence the continued use of glass ampules. For nonsterile products the preservative provides some protection, but continual microbial challenge will diminish the efficacy of the preservative, and spoilage or disease transmission may occur. 

Healthcare personnel handwash formulations are intended to quickly remove any transient, pathogenic microorganisms picked up on the hands of a healthcare provider from patient A and prevent their passage to patient B [18]. Hence, the product is intended to break the disease transmission cycle at the level of the contaminated healthcare worker s hands by removing those microorganisms. 

When the anti-infective properties of antimicrobial hand soaps are discussed, it is necessary to understand what types of microorganisms should be addressed. The microorganisms that normally reside on the hand surfaces pose little threat of disease transmission from person to person [7]. There are, of course, situations in which resident microorganisms cause disease. An infected cut is an example of this. However, in this case, washing serves to degerm the infected area, cleansing it of dead cells and exudate. 

In discussing disease transmission, it is useful to specify the types of microorganisms of concern. Table 1 presents the microorganisms most commonly involved in foodborne illnesses in New York State from 1975 to 1998 [2],... 

Disease transmission via the hands from food workers to consumers can involve various types of microorganisms. Resident microorganisms that normally colonize the skin pose little threat of infectious disease [3,4]. There are situations, e.g., an infected cut, in which resident microorganisms may cause disease. In such situations, however, washing serves to degerm the infected area. 

The increasing occurrence of microbial and nosocomial infection has stimulated research activities into antimicrobial polymers and textiles [19, 25, 34]. Most medical textiles and polymeric materials used in hospitals are conductive to crosstransmission of diseases, as most microorganisms can survive on these materials for hours to several months [17, 26]. Thus, it would be advantageous for polymeric surfaces and textile materials to exhibit antibacterial properties so as to reduce and prevent disease transmission and cross-contamination within and from hospitals. N-halamines exhibit a similar antimicrobial potency to chlorine bleach, one of the most widely used disinfectants, but they are much more stable, less corrosive and have a considerably reduced tendency to generate halogenated hydrocarbons, making them attractive candidates for the production of antimicrobial polymeric materials. N-halamine compounds are currently used as antimicrobial additives to produce polymers with antimicrobial and biofilm-limiting activities. 

Quarantine—Restriction of the activities of well persons or animals who have been exposed to a case of communicable disease during its period of communicability (i.e., contacts) to prevent disease transmission during the incubation period if infection should occur. Absolute or complete quarantine is the limitation of freedom of movement of those exposed to a communicable disease for a period of time not longer than the longest usual incubation period of that disease. Modified quarantine is a selective partial limitation of freedom of movement of contacts, commonly on the basis of known or presumed differences in susceptibility and related to the danger of disease transmission. Quaternary ammonium compounds—Chemical substances used to disinfect or sanitize by rupturing the cell walls of microorganisms. 

Waterborne microorganisms are largely responsible for the transmission of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, muscular paralysis (e.g., poliomyelitis), infectious hepatitis, gastroenteritis, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, and so forth. In a drinking-water potabilization procedure not all the microorganisms present in water need to be killed (sterilization), but only those disease-related (disinfection). Water disinfection can be achieved by chemical, physical, or mechanical action. Agents that provide chemical action for such purposes include ... 

The potential for foodhandlers to be vectors in the transmission of foodborne disease is very significant [19,20]. Contaminating microorganisms are responsi-... 

The host is exposed to the microorganism in a variety of situations relevant to topical antimicrobial compounds. The scenarios tending to infection described below relate to the healthcare setting, but much the same sets of conditions are involved in transmission of foodborne disease via the environmentally or fecally contaminated hands of food handlers. Generally, there is (1) the exposure of patients to pathogenic microorganisms via a healthcare worker s contamination by a different patient, worker, or environmental source (2) the exposure of a patient s surgical site or a worker s wound site to contaminated hands and... 

Any disease that is passed (tom one individual to another during sexual intercourse or other types of sexual activity. These diseases have b n traditionally referred to as venereal diseases. They include gonorrhoea, caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonor-rhoeae, syphilis, due to infection by the bacterium Treponema pallidum genital herpes, which Is caused by a herpesvirus and AIDS, resulting from infection with HIV, a retrovirus. The transmission of sexually transmitted diseases can be reduced by limiting the number of sexual partners and by the use of condoms (see birth control), which reduces the risk of contact with body fluids that harbour the microorganisms that cause these diseases. 

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