Dealing with Infectious Disease Contamination

Updated on February 11, 2018

Infectious diseases are transmitted through the air, droplets or physical contact. Germs and viruses can easily move from one person to another. Airborne and droplets cross-contamination is often caused when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The microbes then come into contact with the nose, eyes or mouth of someone else, and the infection is spread.

There are some individuals who are more likely to be put in this situation, such as health care workers, and most hospitals and health centers have procedures in place to try and reduce the risks for them. There are not many diseases that are spread through the air, as a germ or virus needs to be able to survive for a relatively long period to remain contagious. However the infection is spread, a clean and sterile area is important.

Using Disinfectant To Kill The Infection

If you know you have an infection in your premises, trying to clean it yourself is not the answer. All you are likely to do is become contaminated and pass the disease on to others. Infectious disease disinfection needs to be carried out by experts, and it is not the bottles of disinfectant you buy at your local supermarket that is used. The professionals will not only clean and sterilize the walls and floors, but will also ensure any furniture and equipment is dealt with by using specialist chemicals and testing to make sure there are no live organisms left after the treatment.

The experts will wear the correct protective clothing and breathing apparatus, something that you possibly could not do, and the lack of them could contribute to you becoming contaminated with an infectious disease.

Eradicating Infectious Diseases

Vaccines have been a huge help in reducing the numbers of infectious diseases. You do not very often hear of cases of mumps, measles, polio or scabies anymore, but they are not considered eradicated until there have been no cases anywhere in the world. There is only one disease that has been officially declared eradicated and that is smallpox, the last case being in 1977. A disease can be eliminated from a particular country, such as polio from the US in 1979, but there are still sometimes cases in other parts of the world. Vaccines have been the biggest single factor in reducing these infectious diseases, some of which could be deadly.

Is The Combination Of Measures Working?

Is the combination of extreme cleaning and vaccines working to reduce the numbers and spread of infectious diseases? Yes it is. The reduction in infectious diseases over a 70-year period has been huge, particularly in places like the US where widespread vaccinations were introduced. Although the shots children are given have helped enormously, the disinfecting and sterilizing of contaminated areas has also been an important factor. Killing off any germs, viruses, fungi, parasites or bacteria before they can infect people has to be a step in the right direction to more infectious disease eradications.

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