The risk of occupational exposure and infection with infectious diseases (Part I)

The variety of potentially infectious agents that frequent the health care environment is indeed large. As a result, health care workers are at some degree of risk for exposure to a variety of infectious diseases. However, as healthy individuals, we can protect ourselves quite successfully by following the guidelines that govern personal hygiene and immunization and adhering to accepted infection control standards of patient care, disinfection, antisepsis, and disease isolation. A clear understanding of the mechanisms of disease transmission is also important in this regard.