HLTH101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Passive Immunity, Anaphylaxis, Allergic Response
Document Summary
The chain of infection and the body"s defence system. The chain of infection consists of 6 loops: pathogen, reservoir, portal of exit, means of transmission, portal of entry, and new host. These chains can all be broken at each loop to stop the infection of a new host. Let"s go over how you can break the chain! At the first loop the pathogen you can break it by means of pasteurization of milk, chlorination of drinking water, or using disinfectants. To break it at the reservoir level, you could use medical treatment and testing, insect and rodent eradication, or quarantine. To break it at the portal of exit, you could use condoms, masks, or even covering your mouth while coughing. At means of transmission, handwashing, avoiding infected individuals, sexual abstinence or safer sex, or sanitary practices could break this. This can be done through direct person to person, through animals or indirectly via objects.