Antiseptics and Disinfectants
General Hygiene
To prevent cross contamination
To maintain the health of animals
Maintain health of yourself
Areas of Risk
Wear protective clothing
Wash hands between patients
Remove jewellery
Tie back long hair
Responsibilities as a nurse
Maintaining animal welfare
Maintaining a safe environment for staff and clients
Professional accountability
Setting a standard
Low risk area
Offices
Corridors
High risk area
Theatre
Wards/Stables
Consulting rooms
Labratories
Cleaning of clinical areas
Surfaces and floors cleaned first with detergent then disinfectant
Walls regularly cleaned to height of 1.5 meters
Mop heads machine washed daily
Surfaces in theatre and consulting room tables cleaned between patients
Spot clean any soiled areas
Pathogenic micro-organisms
Bacteria
Classified by shape
cylindrical or rod shaped bacteria are bacilli
Spherical bacteria are cocci. Chains of cocci are streptococci
Spiral or helical bacteria are called spirochaetes
Baceriostatic
a biological or chemical agent that stops bacteria from reproducing, while not necessarily killing them
Bacteriocidal
Kills bacteria
Viruses
Very small can not reproduce without a host cell
Not as hardy as bacterial spores
Most disinfectants will destroy viruses
Fungi
Moulds (multicellular) or yeasts (unicellular)
Some can be difficult to destroy
Easier to destroy than bacterial spores
Protozoa
Unicellular endoparasites
Not as hardy as bacterial spores
Quite a few disinfectants will destroy protozoa
Choice of disinfectant
Intended use
Range of activity
Ease of use
Corrosiveness/staining
Safety to staff and animals
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Microscopic infectious agent
Viruses vary, but they all have, a central core - RNA or DNA
A protein coat known as a CAPSID
Some have an outer envelope
Reproduce by corrupting DNA of host cell, new virus released on rupture of host cell
Only when a number of host cells have been destroyed the disease systoms occur - can take years
Viruses can only attach to cells that have a specific receptor
Most viruses can only affect one or two species
These are much smaller than bacteria and are measured in nanometers
Classed as the simplest form of animal life - one single cell
Bacteria are minute single celled organisms that are large enough to be visible by a light microscope, but not the naked eye
Will only replicate once they have grown to an appropriate size if the conditions are right
Most are aerobic, some are anaerobic
Correct environmental conditions required for successful growth and reporduction
PRION
Very small infectious particles
Cause infections within the CNS leading to death
Incubation period. Can take from 2 months to 20 years before signs of disease become apparent
BSE, CJD, FSE
Microscopic
Reproduce by binary fission, live off organic material
Examples, Giardia and Toxoplasma
YEASTS
Unicellular fungi
Aerobic and Anaerobic
Requires moisture
Produce toxins and allergens
Cause disease by directly invading healthy tissue
Example - Malassezia
Transmission = Indirect and Direct contact
Replicate by Binary Fission and Conjugation
Simple plants
Saprophytic - Lives on dead organic matter
Parasitic - obtains it's food from a living source
In order to cause infection a pathogen must
Gain entry to the host
Establish itself and multiply in the host tissue
Damage the host and cause disease
To produce disease an infectious organism must overcome the animals external and internal defence mechanisms