Brushes and other personal hygiene items used by the infected person should be
identified and not used by anyone else. When the person recovers, the articles are
usually destroyed.
1-15. BREAKING THE MODE OF ENTRY LINK
Communicable diseases can be prevented if the organism that causes the
disease cannot enter the body of the healthy person. Wearing a mask in the hospital
helps to protect you from breathing in droplets in the air that may be carrying disease
organisms. Wearing surgical gloves when you touch the patient's wound or items that
have been in contact with the patient (bandages, dressings, syringes, and so forth)
helps to prevent the organisms from entering your body. Be careful when disposing of
the body excretions of a patient. Do not come into direct contact with the excretions or
with articles that have been contaminated with the excretions (used bedpans, soiled
linen, and so forth). Since the skin is a major barrier to disease-causing organisms, any
break in your skin is a potential site of entry. Proper personal hygiene, especially
proper handwashing, will help to remove any disease-producing organisms that are on
your skin.
1-16. BREAKING THE SUSCEPTIBLE HOST LINK
A susceptible person is one who has little resistance against the disease-
producing organism and is likely to become infected if the disease-producing organism
enters his body. An adult who has good general health is less likely to become infected
than a person who is chronically ill. In addition, some people have immunity to certain
diseases.
a. Immunity. Immunity is the ability of an individual to resist or overcome the
invasion of disease organisms. Most newborn babies have a high level of immunity to a
number of diseases that is derived from their mothers. This immunity is only temporary
and is lost within a few months after birth. The immunity that adults possess is usually
acquired after birth in one of the following ways.
(1) Natural immunity. A person can acquire immunity to certain diseases by
becoming infected with the organisms that cause those diseases. This infection may
cause the person to become ill or it may be so mild that the person does not know that
he has the disease. In either instance, the body may build up enough resistance to
protect the individual from contracting the disease a second time. This protection
develops only with certain infections such as measles, mumps, diphtheria, and
chickenpox. There are many diseases such as pneumonia, tetanus, and gonorrhea
against which the body does not produce effective or lasting immunity.
(2) Artificial immunity. In the case of some infections that result in naturally
acquired immunity, it is possible to stimulate this immunity by injecting a vaccine
(weakened or killed organisms or their products) into the person's body. This process is
called "vaccination" or "immunization." In order to obtain a protecting level of immunity,
MD0535
1-9