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Essay / Nosocomial Infections
Nosocomial infections are infections acquired in the hospital or other health care setting that were absent at the time of the client's admission. It is also called nosocomial infections. This includes infections that become symptomatic after client discharge as well as infections among medical staff. Most hospital-acquired infections are transmitted by health care personnel who do not properly wash their hands or change gloves between client contact. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Standard safety measures are based on the principle that all blood, bodily fluids, secretions, discharge, excretions, non-contact skin and mucous membranes may contain transmissible infectious agents. These standard precautions include washing hands, using appropriate protective equipment, using aseptic techniques to reduce patient exposure to microorganisms, and managing sharp objects, blood spills, laundry and waste to maintain a safe environment. Students taking standard precautions have been recognized as an effective means of preventing and controlling hospital-acquired infections. These measures protect not only the patient but also the healthcare staff and the environment. Among the standard precautions recommended, hand hygiene is considered the most important in itself. Proper use of gloves; whose aim is to protect the health worker as well as the patient is another important measure. A preventive measure that is also worth mentioning is the adoption of safe measures for handling needlesticks and other sharp objects due to the possibility of outbreaks, including hepatitis B and C. In Ghana, where little data is available on the prevalence of nosocomial infections, assessing the necessary knowledge, attitude and perception on infection prevention skills in health care settings as early as possible can help manage the limited resources available in the sector for health providers and clients. The high prevalence of HIV and multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis, lack of allocation of resources and disinfectants, and widespread antimicrobial resistance create major risks of healthcare-associated infections. With the increasing rate of infectious diseases, including HIV, the environment for health workers can be dangerous, risky and stressful, which could interfere with the proper and appropriate delivery of health care. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year, unsafe injections and needlestick injuries cause at least 8 to 16 million infections. HBV, 2.3 to 4.7 million HCV infections and 160,000 HIV/AIDS infections. The WHO estimates that as many as 50% of the 12 billion injections administered each year in low-income countries are unsafe and pose serious health risks to patients, health workers, health students and of the general population. Sharps injuries have been linked to the transmission of more than 40 pathogens, including hepatitis B and C and HIV. The International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium also estimates that 16.8 out of every 1,000 patients on ventilators get pneumonia in Latin America, Asia and Africa. The risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infection was also 5.5 per 1,000 patients. Keep..