Germs and the necessity for infection control

Germs and the necessity for infection control are encountered on a daily basis by all members of a cleaning crew. Therefore, they should be familiar with the following terms in order to deal with germs and infection control issues properly.

The following was part of the "Killing Germs, Protecting People" presentation made by Coastwide Laboratories' senior chemist Roger McFadden at this year's CM Expo® 2001 in April.

Outbreak - the occurrence of a large number of cases of a disease in a short period of time.

Pandemic - an epidemic that affects multiple geographic areas at the same time.

Parasite - an animal or plant that lives in or on another, and from which it obtains nourishment.

Pasteurization - partial sterilization of food at a temperature that destroys harmful microorganisms without major changes in the chemistry of the food.

Pathogen - any disease-causing agent; i.e. virus, bacteria or other microorganisms.

Placebo - a medicinal preparation having no specific pharmacological activity against a patient's illness or complaint; given solely for the psycho-physiological effects of the treatment.

Prophylactic - preventative measure or medication.

Protease - any enzyme that catalyzes the splitting of interior peptide bonds in a protein.

Protein - any of a group of complex organic compounds which contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and usually sulfur, the characteristic element being nitrogen; widely distributed in plants and animals.

"Q" Fever - a bacterial infection that is contracted by contact with materials contaminated with animal feces, blood, inhaling contaminated dust or droplets, or ingesting contaminated food or liquids receptor - a molecule on the surface of a cell that serves as a recognition or binding site.

Reservoir host - a host that carries a pathogen without injury to itself and serves as a source of infection for other host organisms.

Rift Valley Fever - an acute, fever-causing viral disease that affects domestic animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) and humans; RVF is most commonly associated with mosquito-borne epidemics during years of heavy rainfall.

River Blindness - a parasitic worm disease that is spread by the bite of a blackfly; the best way to prevent the disease is insect repellent.

RNA (ribonucleic acid) - a nucleic acid that governs protein synthesis in a cell.

Serum - the clear, thin fluid portion of the blood which remains after coagulation; antibodies and other proteins are found in the serum.