Basic principles of interventions for avoidance and control of workplace infection

WELLBEING: HIV AND AIDS, PREVENTION AND CARE:
Avoidance and Control of Workplace Infection

Tips and Tools

The impact of HIV and AIDS across geographic regions

Sample policy statement on HIV and AIDS (CIFOR)

Sample information brochure on HIV and AIDS (World Agroforestry Center)

Resources on the Internet for HIV and AIDS management in the workplace

CGIAR information resources on HIV and AIDS

1 For most CGIAR Centers, the basic principles of workplace infection avoidance and control for HIV and AIDS are similar to those standards already in place for all first aid. HIV and AIDS oblige organizations to communicate first aid standards and precautions clearly and widely.

Basic principles of workplace infection AVOIDANCE AND control
2 The basic principles of workplace infection avoidance and control are the following.
(a) Anyone administering first aid in the workplace should assume all patients have HIV or AIDS and should avoid contact with blood and other body fluids. To avoid contact with blood or body fluids:

plastic or latex gloves must always be worn;
cuts or sores must be covered with waterproof bandages;
blood spilling onto the skin of the first aid provider must be washed off immediately with hot soapy water.

(b) First aid kits must be available in the workplace and should contain: plastic or latex gloves; waterproof band-aids, cotton, bandages, and antiseptic;
(c) Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits must be readily available in the workplace for immediate use.
(d) Blood spilled on floors or other surfaces should be treated with disinfectant and cleaned with absorbent paper.
(e) Soiled clothing or fabrics should be boiled for 20 minutes and then placed in the sun to dry.
(f) Centers should include basic principles of infection control in introductory seminars for new employees or in employee manuals.
(g) Staff members should be encouraged to carry first aid kits in their automobiles, in the event of a roadside accident.
(h) Staff members and their families should know how to obtain safe blood through the circulation of a regularly updated list of blood centers in the country.
(i) Any CGIAR Center, branch or department involved in health care or blood-based laboratory work should employ the services of an occupational health and safety consultant to ensure the highest standard of infectious disease avoidance and control in the workplace.