Infection Control · patient case question
All of the following are bloodborne pathogens EXCEPT:
Patient case: Preparing the practice
demo: New associate dentist
chief: Reviewing the practice infection control and emergency protocols before starting clinical work.
history: The practice is updating its exposure control plan and its written office emergency procedures.
meds: Not applicable.
findings: The office manager asks a series of questions about immunisation, sterilisation monitoring, waste handling and the hierarchy of hazard controls.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- A. HIV is bloodborne, with a transmission risk of about 0.3 percent after percutaneous exposure to infected blood.
- B. Hepatitis B is the most transmissible of the bloodborne pathogens in occupational exposure, with a risk after a percutaneous injury from an e-antigen positive source that can approach 30 percent.
- C. Hepatitis C is bloodborne, with a transmission risk of roughly 1.8 percent after percutaneous exposure.
- D. Correct, and this is the exception. Tuberculosis is transmitted by the airborne route through droplet nuclei that stay suspended for hours. It requires an N95 respirator and an airborne infection isolation room, not the standard precautions used for blood.
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