Recordkeeping Medical records are to be kept for each employee with occupational exposure for the duration of employment plus 30 years. They must be kept confidential and must include name and social security number; hepatitis B vaccination status (including dates), results of any examination, medical testing and follow-up procedures; a copy of the healthcare professional’s written opinion; and a copy of information provided to the healthcare professional. Training records must be maintained for 3 years and must include dates, contents of the training program or summary, trainers name and qualifications, names and job titles of all persons attending the sessions. Medical records must be made available to the employee, anyone with written consent of the employee, OSHA and NIOSH. Disposal of records must be in accord with OSHA’s standard covering access to records. begin to grow. From there, they move through the blood to other parts of the body, such as the kidney, spine, and brain. TB in the lungs or throat can be infectious. This means that the bacteria can be spread to other people. TB in other parts of the body, such as the kidney or spine, is usually not infectious. People with TB disease are most likely to spread it to people they spend time with everyday. This includes family members, friends, and coworkers. In most people who breathe in TB bacteria and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop them from growing. The bacteria become inactive, but they remain alive in the body and can become active later. This is called TB infection. People with TB infection: ● Have no symptoms. ● Don’t feel sick. ● Can’t spread TB to others. ● Usually have a positive skin test reaction. ● Can develop TB disease later in life if they do not receive preventive therapy. Many people who have TB infection never develop TB disease. In these people, the TB bacteria remain inactive for a lifetime without causing disease. But in other people, especially people who have weak immune systems, the bacteria become active and cause TB disease. The symptoms of viral hepatitis Early symptoms of viral hepatitis include: ● Fatigue. ● Tenderness in the upper right abdomen. ● Sore muscles & joints. ● Loss of appetite. ● An altered sense of taste & smell. ● Nausea, vomiting & diarrhea. ● Low-grade fever. ● Malaise. Other symptoms can include: ● Jaundice - abnormally yellow skin & eyes caused by bile entering the blood. ● Darkened urine; light-colored or gray stool. Diagnosis of hepatitis Although health providers use information about a person’s symptoms, health history and behaviors to help make a diagnosis, only blood tests can confirm the diagnosis and pinpoint which type of hepatitis a person has. Treatments for viral hepatitis Since there’s no medication that can treat the initial illness that viral hepatitis causes, health professionals manage symptoms as they occur and try to help the body’s immune system fight the infection. If you have viral hepatitis, your health care provider may tell you to:
store or transport blood or other potentially infectious materials. Red bags or containers may be used instead of labeling. When a facility uses universal precautions in its handling of all specimens, labeling is not required within the facility. Likewise when all laundry is handled with universal precautions, the laundry need not be labeled. Blood which has been treated and found free of HIV or HBV and released for clinical use, and regulated waste which has been decontaminated, need not be labeled. Information and training Training of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard should be completed within 90 days of effective date, and annually thereafter. Training must include making accessible a copy of the regulatory test of the standard and explanation of its contents. Tuberculosis Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is an infectious disease that may affect almost any tissue in the body especially the lungs. It is caused by the bacteria mycobacterium tuberculosis and characterized by tubercles, the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis (TB), which kills almost 3 million people a year. TB is the leading cause of death due to an infectious agent in the world. In the mid-1980s a resurgence of outbreaks in the United States brought new attention to TB. Increases in the incidence of TB are related to the high risk among immunosuppressed persons, particularly those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Drug resistant strains of this deadly disease have contributed to the problem. Outbreaks have occurred in hospitals, correctional institutions, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and residential care facilities for AIDS patients. Nationwide, at least several hundred employees have become infected and have required medical treatment after workplace exposure to TB. TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs or sneezes. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. When a person breathes in TB bacteria, the bacteria can settle in the lungs and Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by medications, alcohol, or a variety of other agents including the viruses that cause mumps, measles, herpes and infectious mononucleosis. However, when health professionals talk about viral hepatitis, they usually mean hepatitis caused by the hepatitis A, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C virus. The differences between hepatitis A, B and C Although hepatitis A, B and C have similar symptoms, the viruses themselves are quite different. The hepatitis A virus can enter a person’s body when he/she eats or drinks something contaminated with the stool or blood of someone who has the disease. Symptoms usually appear within 2-6 weeks, but are not followed by the chronic problems that hepatitis B and C viruses can cause. The hepatitis B and C viruses can infect a person if his/her mucous membranes or blood are exposed to an infected person’s blood, saliva, wound exudates, semen or vaginal secretions. Symptoms appear more gradually than in hepatitis A. Unlike the hepatitis A virus, the hepatitis B and C viruses can stay in the body - sometimes for a lifetime - and eventually cause The basic facts on hepatitis Viral hepatitits Because the different viruses that cause hepatitis enter the body in different ways, there are several steps you can take to protect yourself from infection. Practicing good hygiene and safer sexual behaviors is a good first step. For more specific information, see the individual sections for hepatitis A, B and C. chronic, serious liver diseases. Protections against infection
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