Types of Blood Pathogens
Blood-borne pathogens (BBPs) are nothing new. We have known for years that bacteria and viruses use our bloodstreams to spread throughout the body. Science has developed antibiotics or other "miracle drugs" to deal with each invader as it appeared. What has changed is that a number of pathogens have been discovered in the last decades that don't respond to current treatments and that threaten public health. Medical research has developed procedures, called protocols, and standards for dealing with these dangerous microbes until treatments can be found.
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Identification
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Pathogens are molecules or organisms that carry disease. They cause disease but are not actually the disease itself. When pathogens enter the bloodstream, they have access to every part of the body that is oxygenated or nourished by blood, from the nerves in the ends of your toes to the brain in your head. The same blood that nourishes the human body protects it by producing proteins, enzymes and antigens that attack and kill invading microbes. It produces triggers that form blood to clot around foreign substances, produce inflammation to "cook" the invaders or dilates arteries and increases capillary permeability to expel them.Our blood also has "memory cells" that remember which responses work against specific invading cells and replicates responses. This ability is responsible for giving us "symptoms" like fever, runny nose and sore throat to help diagnose the type of microbe that has made us sick.
Types
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Two forms of an old disease, Hepatitis, types B and C (as well as type D, which is uncommon in the U.S.) can cause chronic diseases and death. An immunization for type B was developed in the early 1980s but there are no immunizations for Type C or D. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes a debilitating, fatal disease of the immune system, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). There is no known immunization or cure. The latest pathogens to be identified are called "special pathogens," a category created for viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs). Over a dozen varieties of these "flesh-eating" diseases have been discovered in animals and humans, fitting into five geographic families. No immunizations or treatments exist.
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Features
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These frightening new pathogens are transmitted by contact with blood and no treatments (other than palliatives to decrease pain and offer symptomatic relief) are known. Hepatitis B and C cause diseases of the liver, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hepatitis B can be transmitted through bodily fluids but type C appears to be transmitted only through blood. HIV infections result in AIDS in a percentage of those infected although the process is not understood. Despite two decades of research, a cure remains elusive and palliatives offer the only relief from the disease. VHFs attack ribonucleic acid (RNA) in a specific species and appear to be limited in geographic range--for the present. Not enough is known to be able to develop treatments or immunizations with the exception of the oldest known VHF, yellow fever. VHFs can be transmitted through sneezing or coughing from one host to another.
Significance
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Infection control has always posed problems for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The development of new standards and procedures provides the only hope of containing these pathogens until ways can be found to isolate them or destroy their viability.
Prevention/Solution
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Hand washing, protective clothing, sharps (needles) containment and strict sterilization controls are part of protocols at healthcare facilities. The Centers for Disease Control and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration provide educational and training support for healthcare, businesses and state-operated programs for emergency services and First Responders.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Microsoft Office clip art, Wisconsin Department of Public Health
