Risk of infection and tracking of work-related infectious diseases in the funeral industry
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Tracking Microbial Contamination in Retail Environments Using Fluorescent Powder - A Retail Delicatessen Environment Example
Published on: March 5, 2014
Susan Salter Davidson1, William H Benjamin
1Department of Clinical Microbiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35244, USA.
Abstract:
This review demonstrates that funeral service professionals (FSPs) have a risk of exposure to bacterial and viral pathogens as well as to prion-mediated diseases. It reveals a lack of published studies focusing on the implementation and effectiveness of infection control policies for this occupational group as well as the difficulty involved in determining actual infection rates related to workplace exposure events. Possible reasons for this lack of data include the categorization of these workers by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classification System as service providers rather than health care professionals.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Standard Precaution
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
01:22Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
01:26Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin create...
01:20Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...