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Blood-borne disease
 
 
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A blood-borne disease is one that can be spread by contamination by blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
.

The most common examples are HIV
HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that can lead to AIDS , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections....
, hepatitis B, hepatitis C
Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a Blood-borne disease infectious disease that is caused by the hepatitis C virus , affecting the liver. The infection is often asymptomatic, but once established, chronic infection can cause inflammation of the liver ....
 and viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Diseases that are not usually transmitted directly by blood contact, but rather by insect or other vector, are more usefully classified as vector-borne disease, even though the causative agent can be found in blood. Vector-borne diseases include West Nile virus
West Nile virus

West Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropics and temperate regions....
 and malaria
Malaria

Malaria is a Vector -borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in Tropics and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa....
.

Many blood-borne diseases can also be transmitted by other means.

Since it is difficult to determine what pathogens any given blood contains, and some blood-borne diseases are lethal, standard medical practice regards all blood (and any body fluid) as potentially infective.






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Encyclopedia


A blood-borne disease is one that can be spread by contamination by blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
.

The most common examples are HIV
HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that can lead to AIDS , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections....
, hepatitis B, hepatitis C
Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a Blood-borne disease infectious disease that is caused by the hepatitis C virus , affecting the liver. The infection is often asymptomatic, but once established, chronic infection can cause inflammation of the liver ....
 and viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Diseases that are not usually transmitted directly by blood contact, but rather by insect or other vector, are more usefully classified as vector-borne disease, even though the causative agent can be found in blood. Vector-borne diseases include West Nile virus
West Nile virus

West Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropics and temperate regions....
 and malaria
Malaria

Malaria is a Vector -borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in Tropics and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa....
.

Many blood-borne diseases can also be transmitted by other means.

Since it is difficult to determine what pathogens any given blood contains, and some blood-borne diseases are lethal, standard medical practice regards all blood (and any body fluid) as potentially infective. Blood and Body Fluid precautions are a type of infection control
Infection control

Infection control and health care epidemiologyis the discipline concerned with preventing the spread of infections within the health-care setting....
 practice that seeks to minimize this sort of disease transmission. Blood poses the greatest threat to health in a laboratory or clinical setting due to needle disposal techniques.

Blood for blood transfusion
Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to Physical trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery....
 is screened for many blood-borne diseases.

Needle exchanges are an attempt to reduce the spread of blood-borne diseases in intravenous drug users. One of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent disease transmission is hand washing.

See also

  • blood test
    Blood test

    A blood test is a medical laboratory analysis performed on a blood sample that is usually extracted from a vein in the arm using a hypodermic needle, or via fingerprick....
  • Infectious disease
    Infectious disease

    An infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, Mycosis, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions....
  • sharps bin
  • needlestick injury
    Needlestick injury

    Any piercing wound can be potentially classified as a needlestick injury, but the term is most frequently used in relation to healthcare workers....


External links

  • , from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
    Occupational Safety and Health Administration

    The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M....
     (OSHA)
  • Freeview Malaria video by the Vega Science Trust.
  • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases. Freeview video by the Vega Science Trust.