Measles, however, is on the rise in Australia, France, Europe and Africa. Dengue fever is rampant in Africa, the South Pacific, the Caribbean and the Middle East.


Many diseases become more prevalent, then decline very quickly as prevention and treatment options are discovered and put in place. SARS and Avian Flu are prime examples. Others, such as Salmonella, E. Coli, Yellow Fever, Lyme Disease, and Rabies are still very much a risk to the uninformed traveler. Your safety depends on being prepared and having necessary information prior to your trip. Aircare Access will be able to create an itinerary for you with destination- specific concerns. Contact Aircare Access prior to travel with your itinerary and request a pre-trip report noting your specific needs. The Aircare Access website is www.aircareinternational.com.


The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is another option to identify needs for the locations you’ll be visiting. The website is wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel. Whichever way you choose to check, your safety abroad is the number one priority.


that need to be discussed in order to provide you the best level of protection when providing care to another person.


HIV: THE VIRUS THAT CAUSES AIDS


First reported in 1981 in the U.S., HIV/ AIDS has become a worldwide health concern. An estimated 1.2 million people in the United States were living with HIV at the end of 2013; the most recent year for which this statistic is available. Of those people, about 13%, or 1 in 8, did not know they were infected.


BLOODBORNE


PATHOGENS Bloodborne pathogens are disease- producing organisms found in blood and other body fluids. Fear of being exposed to potentially infectious diseases during a medical emergency is a common concern. It is the number one reason people refuse to get involved and help. Although there is a chance of exposure to disease in any emergency event, following a few simple rules can minimize your risks.


Knowing what diseases are out there and how they are transmitted will assist you in making the right decisions while providing safe and effective emergency medical care.


Protecting yourself is the first priority of patient care. Increasing your awareness of the types of PPE you need, will reduce your risk of exposure to pathogens.


Diseases can be transmitted in a variety of ways. Two of the most common transmission-routes are through particulates in the air and through contact with blood or other body fluids.


Airborne pathogens are inhaled or ingested to produce illness. Bloodborne pathogens are transmitted via skin to body fluid contact. There are several diseases


7 The Basics


HIV disease continues to be a serious health issue for parts of the world. There were about 2.1 million new cases of HIV in 2015 worldwide. About 36.7 million people are living with HIV globally, and as of June 2016, 17 million people living with HIV were receiving medicines to treat HIV, called antiretroviral therapy (ART). An estimated 1.1 million people died from AIDS- related illnesses in 2015. Sub-Saharan Africa, which bears the heaviest burden of HIV/AIDS worldwide, accounts for 65% of all new HIV infections. Other regions significantly affected by HIV/AIDS include Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.


Over the last 30 years, science has uncovered vast amounts of medical, scientific, and public health information about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The ways in which HIV can be transmitted have been clearly identified. Sometimes information not supported by science is disseminated to the public. This only leads to a greater, unwarranted fear of infection.


HIV is not transmitted by casual contact. It is spread from person to person in several specific ways: by unprotected sexual contact with an infected person, by sharing needles and/or syringes with someone who is infected, and less commonly, through transfusions of infected blood or blood clotting factors. This type of transmission rarely happens in places where blood is screened for HIV antibodies. Mothers can transmit HIV to their babies before or during birth and through breast-feeding.


The remote possibility does exist for exposure in the healthcare setting. Workers have been infected with HIV after being stuck with needles containing HIV- infected blood or, less frequently, after infected blood gets into a worker’s open cut or a mucous membrane (such as the eyes or inside of the nose).


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101