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Course Sample:
The purpose of this course is to provide the initial and annual refresher Bloodborne Pathogen Training required by OSHA (Part 1090.1930, 29 CFR) for all medical professionals with occupational exposure to blood or Other Potentially Infectious Materials. This includes physicians, physician assistants, nurses, medical assistants, lab techs. and others in the medical field.
OSHA requires all employees who have occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials to receive initial and annual refresher Bloodborne Pathogen training. This course provides the required training and provides medical professionals with information concerning ways in which they can protect themselves while at work.
Who Should Enroll?
All persons needing required bloodborne pathogen training, persons responsible for a workplace OSHA program or other persons who want to know how to comply with the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard.
ANNUAL BLOODBORNE PATHOGEN TRAINING
1.0 Introduction
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard to protect workers from exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Bloodborne Pathogens are pathogenic organisms, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV), that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These diseases are transmitted through contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). OPIM includes semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, and any other body fluid visibly contaminated with blood such as saliva or vomit. A copy of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard (Part 1910.1030, 29 CFR) can be found on-line at www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10051
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is caused by the HIV virus. The treatments for AIDS continue to improve but the disease is still always fatal. About one million people in the US are living with AIDS. Many people infected with the virus do not even realize they are infected. The chance of contracting HIV in the workplace is about .3% to .4%.
Unlike the HBV virus, this virus dies quickly outside the human body. AIDS infection occurs in three phases. The first phase occurs when a person is actually infected with HIV. Early symptoms of infection include fever, headache, tiredness, and swollen lymph glands. These symptoms quickly disappear and the infected person may go for several years without any symptoms. After two to ten more years, the infected person experiences opportunistic diseases such as pneumonia, candidiasis, Herpes, Toxoplasmosis, TB, and Karposi's Sarcoma. AIDS is the final phase of disease which occurs when the body' immune system can no longer fight off life-threatening diseases and infections.
Hepatitis B (HBV)
Hepatitis B begins by attacking the liver but can lead to more serious conditions such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. About 300,000 people are infected with HBV every year in the US. A small number of these cases are fatal. Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver and is transmitted primarily through "blood to blood" contact. There is no cure or specific treatment for Hepatitis B. The HBV virus is very resilient and can survive in dried blood for up to seven days. The likelihood of contracting HBV through a needlestick or other cut is between 6-30% if the exposed worker has not received and responded to the Hepatitis B vaccine.
Symptoms:
Only half the people who get hepatitis B have any symptoms. When symptoms occur, they may include yellowing of the eyes or skin, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fever, pain in muscles, joints or stomach, and extreme tiredness and not being able to work for weeks or months. It can take from one to nine months for symptoms to appear.
Hepatitis C (HCV)
Approximately 4 million people (1.8%) in the US are infected with Hepatitis C. Persons who have ever injected drugs, had multiple sex partners, or received a blood transfusion prior to 1992 are at greatest risk. Hepatitis C is a viral disease that usually leads to serious, permanent liver damage in 75-85% of the infected persons. In many cases, death occurs. Signs of liver disease may not emerge for 10 - 20 years after the initial infection. Hepatitis C is the leading reason for liver transplants. The likelihood of contracting HBV through a needlestick is 1.8%. Approximately 1-2% of healthcare workers are infected.
Symptoms:
Eighty percent of persons infected with HCV have no signs or symptoms. For those that experience symptoms, some common symptoms are fatigue, dark urine, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and nausea. Treatments include interferon and interferon combined with Ribaviron. Thirty-five percent of the infections are cleared with the combination treatment but not without significant side effects.
Modes of Transmission for HBV, HCV and HIV
Y-yes
P-possible, rare
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Mode
of Transmission
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HIV
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HBV
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HCV
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Having
sex with an infected person.
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Y
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Y
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Drug
users sharing needles
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Y
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Y
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Y
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Blood
transfusion
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1/700,000
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1/200,000
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1/121,000
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From
mothers to their babies at or before birth
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Y
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Y
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Y
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Y
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P
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P
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Sharing
toothbrush, razor with infected person
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P
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Y
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Y
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Tattooing
or body piecing with contaminated needle.
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Y
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Y
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Y
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Puncture
from contaminated needles, broken glass, or other sharps
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Y
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Y
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Y
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Contact
between broken or damaged skin and infected body fluids
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Y
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Y
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Y
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Contact
between mucous membranes and infected body fluids
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Y
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Y
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Y
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Transmission to healthcare workers in the workplace occurs through:
- Contact between mucous membranes (eyes, nose or mouth) and infected blood or OPIM.
- A splash of infected blood or OPIM onto a wound or other non-intact skin.
- A stick with a contaminated needle or a cut or poke with a contaminated object.
2.0 Definitions
The following definitions are important to your understanding of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard:
Blood - Human blood, human blood components, and products made from human blood.
Bloodborne Pathogens - Bloodborne Pathogens means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Occupational Exposure - reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or parenteral (under the skin) contact with blood or OPIM that may result from the performance of an employee's duties.
Exposure Incident - splash of blood or OPIM into an employee's eyes, nose or mouth or onto non-intact skin, or a poke or cut with a contaminated object under the surface of the skin that occurs during the performance of work duties.
Other Potentially Infectious Materials (OPIM)
- Includes the following human body fluids: (1) semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, (2) any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood, and (3) all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids.
- Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human (living or dead).
- HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and HIV- or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV.
Contaminated - means the presence or the reasonably anticipated presence of blood or other potentially infectious material on an item or surface.
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