not talking directly into a person's face are other measures used to control the spread of
disease organisms that escape through the respiratory tract.
b. Gastrointestinal Tract. Disease-producing organisms that use the
gastrointestinal tract as a mode of escape usually leave the body in feces. These
diseases can be controlled through the use of proper sanitation and hygiene. An
adequate handwash after using the latrine is very important in controlling these
diseases.
c. Skin. Disease-producing organisms that escape through wounds can be
controlled through the use of dressings that absorb the drainage that carries the disease
organisms. Good personal hygiene will also help to prevent the spread of disease.
1-14. BREAKING THE MODE OF TRANSFER LINK
a. Direct Contact. Diseases that are spread by direct contact can be controlled
by preventing the contact from occurring. Wearing surgical gloves when examining a
patient's wounds can prevent disease organisms from the wound from entering your
body and prevent any disease organisms that may be present on your hands from
infecting the patient's wounds. Avoidance of sexual intercourse with a person infected
with venereal disease is another example of controlling the spread of communicable
disease.
b. Indirect Contact.
(1) Arthropod-borne diseases. Communicable diseases that are transmitted
by certain arthropods can be controlled by eliminating the arthropod that carries the
disease. One of the major methods of controlling malaria, for example, is the
elimination of the Anopheles mosquito in the area.
(2) Food contamination. Diseases that are spread through contamination of
food and water can be controlled by destroying the contaminated food item, by not
drinking contaminated water, or by making the food or water safe for consumption.
Most disease-producing organisms present in raw foods can be destroyed by properly
cooking the food item. (Cooking, of course, will not kill organisms that come into
contact with the food after the food has been cooked and is ready to be served.) Water
can usually be made safe to drink using the procedures given in Lesson 2.
(3) Fomites. Disease spread by fomites can be controlled by destroying the
disease-carrying article, by destroying the disease-producing organisms on the article,
or by preventing the article from coming into contact with another person. Dressings
and bandages may be removed from the wound by a person using surgical gloves,
placed in a special container for contaminated items, and burned. Eating utensils and
surgical instruments that come into contact with the person or which come into contact
with another article that has been contaminated by the person can be sterilized.
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