HEALTH RISKS

Points To Ponder:

Many of us have been in situations that really scared us, but did you know that blood-borne pathogens, as well as body fluids, carry viruses, can make you DEATHLY ILL and could KILL you? Now, if that’s not a scary enough  thought, here are some more interesting statistics

Did You Know:

That AIDS/HIV can be transmitted through ways other than sexual contact? That AIDS/HIV can be transmitted by sharing needles, and through open cuts in the skin?

The CDC also states that HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (UNLIKE BACTERIA OR FUNGI, WHICH MAY REPRODUCE UNDER OTHER CONDITIONS).

The reason for bringing this is up is to encourage you to always try to be safe. Although HIV has been transmitted between family members in a household setting, this type of transmission is rare. You should, however, always take safety precautions to ensure your safety. Some safety guidelines are as follows:
Gloves should be worn during contact with blood or other body fluids.
Cuts, sores, or breaks in the skin in both the caregiver and the patient should always be bandaged.
Hands and other parts of the body should be washed immediately after contact with blood  or other body fluids.
SURFACES soiled with blood or other body fluids should be DISINFECTED appropriately.
Dispose of any needles and other sharp instruments in a PUNCTURE PROOF container.

Some HEPATITIS VIRUSES can be as deadly as the AIDS/HIV virus. Let’s take HAV (Hepatitis-A) for example. Even though it is primarily a food virus, it  can lead to other illnesses. HAV accounts for approximately 20,000 to 35,000 cases of food-borne illness each year in the United States.

Here are some facts about HBV (Hepatitis-B):

Worldwide, 1 out of 3 people have been infected with the Hepatitis-B virus.
HBV is one of the most common and serious diseases in the world!
According to the Hepatitis B Foundation, there are approximately 400 million chronic carriers of HBV worldwide. Over 75% of these carriers reside in the  Asia-Pacific region.

One million people die each year from acute and chronic liver disease caused  by HBV infection, making it the ninth leading cause of death worldwide.

Nearly 300,000 people become infected each year with HBV. Of that number, one out of  ten becomes a chronic carrier. HBV is 100 times more infectious than the AIDS virus. In the United States approximately 2 healthcare workers are infected each day with HBV. There is a vaccine for HBV, but for the 400 million who are already carriers of HBV the
vaccine is of no use.

HBV can be transmitted through any infected person’s mucus membranes upon contact with infected body fluids such as semen, vaginal secretions, saliva, and blood. The highest concentration of the virus, however, is found in the blood.

Because of the availability of a vaccine, HBV is one of the most preventable  STDs (Sexually Transmitted Disease). Most people don’t think of HBV as an STD.

And then there is HCV (Hepatitis C virus) which is a viral infection of the liver.
HCV is transmitted by exposure to blood from an infected individual.

The greatest risk of transmitting HCV from person to person is during a period of one or more weeks before onset of symptoms. However, since the majority of people infected with HCV do not have symptoms, the period of communicability is indeterminate.

Humans remain contagious as long as they carry the virus.