HIV: Prevention, transmission via blood and contaminated needles

Screening of blood for transfusion, limitation of blood transfusions and injections, strict sterilization of needles, syringes, etc. The intravenous drug abuse problem does not have the same proportions in Africa as it does in developed countries, though it is quite substantial in Southeast Asia. Medical personnel should avoid accidental contact with blood by wearing gloves, by not recapping needles, by putting needles immediately after use into containers with large openings, and by wearing protective clothing, masks, gloves and glasses when assisting childbirth. Hands should be washed with soap and water after contact with body fluids. Correct techniques should (of course!) be used in surgical operations. For example, during a surgical operation the handing over of a sharp instrument such as a scalpel should take place not from hand to hand, but the instrument should first be laid down, after which the next person picks it up. Making sterile needles and syringes available to drug users, as well as methadone projects, have proved useful.

Category: Medical Subject Notes , Medicine Notes , Microbiology Notes , PSM Notes