Posted By Jeff Manion
List of Potential Microbiological Hazards.
Agent. Disease or Infection. Source.
Pencillum spp. Rhinitis, asthma, alveolitus. Building fabric.
Serpula Lacrymans (dry rot). Rhinitis, asthma. Building fabric, old timbers.
Aspergillus spp (especially A.Fumigatus and A.Niger. Rhinitis, asthma. Building fabric, old timbers.
Mucor spp. Rhinitis, asthma. Building fabric, soil.
Cladosporium spp. Rhinitis, asthma. Building fabric.
Clostridium tetani. Tetanus, lockjaw. Soil.
Chlamydia psittaci. Orthinosis. Bird droppings, feather nests.
Histoplasmosa capsulatum Histoplasmosis. Bird and bat droppings.
Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae. Weil's disease - leptospirosis Mainly rats but also cats, dogs and cattle urine.
Bacillus anthracis Anthrax Spores of leather horse hair or wool products.
Variola major or minor. Smallpox Infected mummified skins.
The routes of entry into the body in which the contamination can enter are limited. If the type of contaminant is known, it will be relatively easy to provide effective barriers and designs systems of work to limit exposure and / or intake of any bio-hazard that has been recognised as being present.
In addition to the three principal routes of entry: -
? Inhalation – breathing in the contaminant
? Ingestion – through eating food or by other means of entering the mouth, splashes / smoking etc.
? Absorption – through the skin.
Exposed mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) and open wounds may transport the bio-hazard into the body that may have otherwise have been kept at bay.
Having identified the possible bio-hazards and their route into the body, the range of measures by which an acceptable degree of protection might be achieved can be considered. With the existing bio-hazards, the primary defences of removal or substitution are not viable. Therefore the less effective protective devices of reducing numbers exposed, reducing duration of exposure, providing ppe and appropriate disrobing, disinfection and decontamination measures become paramount.
Special provisions relating to protection against all biological hazards that might adversely affect people are list below: -
When provisionally classifying a biological agent the employer shall assign that agent to one of the following Groups according to its level of risk of infection and, if in doubt as to which of two alternative Groups is the most appropriate, they shall assign it to the higher of the two;
? Group 1 - unlikely to cause human disease;
? Group 2 - can cause human disease and may be a hazard to employees; it is unlikely to spread to the community and there is usually effective prophylaxis or treatment available;
? Group 3 - can cause severe human disease and may be a serious hazard to employees; it may spread to the community, but there is usually effective prophylaxis or treatment available;
? Group 4 - causes severe human disease and is a serious hazard to employees; it is likely to spread to the community and there is usually no effective prophylaxis or treatment available.
JNM