In July 2019, a week long blood-borne pathogens training was held in Pohnpei, FSM. Bloodborne pathogens are infectious materials in the blood that can cause disease in humans, including but not limited to: Hepatitis B and C and human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. These pathogens can be further categorized as bacterial, viral, parasitic and mycological agents of infectious diseases. Workers exposed to these pathogens risk serious illness or death. Exposures to blood and other body fluids occur across a wide variety of occupations.
Health care workers, including medical lab personnel, emergency response and public safety personnel, and other workers can be exposed to blood through needlestick and other sharps injuries, mucous membrane, and skin exposures. Workers and employers should take advantage of available protective equipment and work practices to prevent exposure to blood and other body fluids. Being a healthcare worker, it is important to know the microbiology of these various types of bloodborne pathogens, the infections they cause, and the types of laboratory methods used to detect and confirm their presence.
At the end of the training, participants were able to list and categorize the selected bloodborne pathogens discussed and the infectious disease they cause, describe the microbiology and transmission of the infectious diseases caused by the selected bloodborne pathogens, describe the laboratory methods used to confirm the detection/presence of the selected infectious diseases, explain the importance of infection prevention and control in the laboratory environment and discuss the various biosafety levels and practices and infectious waste management.