IMSTS: Chain of Infection

Communicable or infectious diseases

caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to
another.
1. Bacteria: Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pneumoniae
2. Viruses: Retrovirus, Rabies
3. Parasites: Ascaris lumbricoides
4. Protozoa: Malaria (Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium knowlesi)
5. Fungi: Malassezia

Zoonotic diseases
1. are infectious diseases of animals that can cause disease when transmitted to humans
2. Coming into contact with the saliva, blood, urine, or feces of an infected animal
3. Being bitten by a tick or mosquito (often called a “vector”)
4. Eating or drinking something unsafe (such as unpasteurized milk, undercooked meat, or unwashed fruits and
vegetables that are contaminated with feces from an infected animal)
Vector borne diseases

Transplacental transmission
 transmitted through placenta
 virus of German measles and AIDS and bacteria of Syphilis

Vehicle borne diseases

 Diseases transmitted by a non-living thing/ fomites
1. food, water: Cholera, dysentery, typhoid are transmitted by agencies like
2. Soil: hemintiasis, ascariasis
3. Dust: measles

The Chain of Infection

1. Infection can only occur when all six links in the chain are intact.
2. By breaking this chain at any of the links, the spread of infection is stopped.
3. As healthcare professionals, it is important to understand two things about infection:
a. the various ways infection can be transmitted
b. the ways the infection chain can be broken

There are six links in the chain of infection :

1st - The Infectious Agent
-any disease-causing microorganism (pathogen)

2nd - The Reservoir Host

- the organism in which the infectious microbes reside
Carrier Hosts: __________________________________________________________________

3rd - The Portal of Exit

-route of escape of the pathogen from the reservoir.
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 IMSTS: Chain of Infection
4th - The Route of Transmission
-method by which the pathogen gets from the reservoir to the new host
1. Ingestion
2. Inhalation
3. Inoculation
4. Contamination/ Direct Contact
5. Sexual contact

5th - The Portal of Entry

-route through which the pathogen enters its new host
1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________
3. _________________________________
4. _________________________________

6th - The Susceptible Host

-the vulnerable organism that accepts the pathogen

How to interrupt the chain of infection:

 The essential part of patient care & self-protection.

1. Pathogen Identification
-identification of infectious agent & appropriate treatment
2. Asepsis & Hygiene
-potential hosts & carriers must practice asepsis & maintain proper personal hygiene
3. Control Portals of Exit
-practice universal standard precautions
4. Prevent a Route of Transmission
-Proper handwashing
-Disinfection & sterilization techniques
-Isolation of infected patients
-Not working when contagious
5. Protect Portal of Entry
-Health professionals must make sure that ports of entry are not subjected to pathogens.
6. Recognition of Susceptible Host
-health professionals must recognize & protect high-risk patients

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