Reducing the Risk!

Bloodborne Pathogens

Why This Presentation is Important to You…

• As part of your job, you have the opportunity to come into contact with people…every day!

• Depending on the nature of that contact, it’s possible that from time to time you could be exposed to a disease

• In most cases, that will mean nothing more than the flu or common cold

• In other situations, however, it could mean exposure to dangerous bloodborne pathogens like:

HIVHIVHepatitis B (HBV)Hepatitis B (HBV)Hepatitis C (HCV)Hepatitis C (HCV)

The GoalAt Prime Income, our goal is to help you work safely - avoiding exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens (BBPs)

To help us achieve that goal, we have: Identified where you might be exposed to BBPs at work Pinpointed behaviors that increase your risk of exposure Established some safe work practices to reduce that risk Assembled this presentation for your benefit

What are Bloodborne Pathogens?

• BBPs are widespread in today’s population

• BBPs are disease-causing agents (mainly viruses) found in human blood or in other potentially infectious materials (OPIM), such as certain bodily fluids.

– Approximately 1 million in the U.S. are infected with HIV(the virus that causes AIDS)

– Approximately 1 million in the U.S. are carriers of Hepatitis B (HBV)

– Up to 2.5 million people in the U.S. are infected with Hepatitis C (HCV)

– Tens of thousands of new infections occur each year

How Does Infection Occur?• Infection occurs through direct contact with the blood or

bodily fluid of an infected person

• This may include:– Sharing of hypodermic needles– Intimate sexual relations– Contact during medical assistance

• BBP infection does not occur from– Being near an infected person– Sharing eating or drinking utensils– Touching objects that they have touched– Animal waste

Potential for Workplace Exposure

Transmission can also occur after accidental contact with blood or bodily fluid at work

In an apartment/hotel/commercial setting, this might include contact with:– Blood from an injured resident, visitor, or co-worker– Blood on equipment (dishwasher, garbage disposal, etc.) after an

accident– Contaminated materials in the garbage– Bodily fluids encountered during janitorial/housekeeping duties in

various areas

Risky BehaviorThere are certain things that can increase your risk of exposure to BBPs. These include:

Touching blood or bodily fluids with unprotected skin

Cleaning potentially infected equipment or areas without the proper protective equipment

Not paying attention to the placement of your hands or other body parts

Handling hypodermic needles or other ‘sharps’ (broken glass, sharp metal, etc.) that are (or may be) contaminated with blood

Providing First Aid without taking precautions

Hint: These things should be avoided

Safe Work PracticesOn the other hand, there are certain actions you can take to decrease your risk of exposure to BBPs, such as: Putting on medical gloves before assisting with First Aid

Never placing your hands inside a trash bag or container

Never pick up hypodermic needles, except with a tool (shovel, tongs, forceps, etc.)

Always wearing protective equipment (gloves, safety glasses, etc.) when cleaning equipment or fixtures contaminated with blood or bodily fluids

Never holding a trash bag against your body

Report ALL instances of personal exposure to blood or bodily fluids to management immediately

Treat ALL blood and bodily fluids as if they were infected(also known as taking “Universal Precautions”)

Universal PrecautionsBecause it is impossible to tell whether or not blood or bodily fluids are infected simply by

looking, Universal Precautions is a conservative approach that treats ALL human blood and

certain human body fluids as if they were infected with HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne

pathogens.

Expectations

Remember that, as part of your job, you are NOT expected or required to:

Handle or touch human blood or bodily fluids spills

Render First Aid

Responding to an Exposure

1. Wash the injured area immediately Use hot water and soap Scrub vigorously for 5 minutes Apply alcohol or other disinfecting agent

2. Report the incident to your Supervisor right away3. Obtain professional medical attention

Come into contact with blood or bodily fluids OR Receive a needle stick OR Are cut by a potentially contaminated sharp

If you:

Thank you for your cooperation!Thank you for your cooperation!