OCCUPATIONAL BIOHAZARDS

DR. TAJUDDIN BANTACUT

DEPARTMENT OF AGROINDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY
BOGOR AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
 Introduction
• Biohazards is short for biological hazards.
• Biohazards are unique sources of risk that
can have deleterious effects on human
health.
• Biohazards commonly refer to the hazards
of living organisms, which can include
prions, viruses, bacteria, mycoplasms,
rickettsia, protozoans, zoonoses, fungi,
microscopic parasites, nematodes, etc.
• Biological: preparations made from organisms or from their products,
intended for use in humans or animals for the purposes of treatment,
diagnosis or research.
• Disease: an interruption, cessation (termination), or disorder of body
functions, systems or organs.
• Infection: the entry and development or multiplication of an infectious
agent in humans or animals. Infection is not synonymous with
infectious disease, as the organism may be on the exterior surfaces
of the body.
• Infectious agent: any micro-organism that is capable of producing
infection or disease and may adversely impact human health.
• Medical waste: any solid waste which is generated during treatment,
diagnosis or research on humans or animals.
• Morbidity: a disease state.
• Mortality: the death state.
• Pathogen: any micro-organism capable of causing disease.
• Pathogenicity: the capability of an infectious agent to cause disease
in susceptible hosts.
• Virulence: the disease evoking power of a microorganism in a given
host.
some of categories of biohazards or potentially infectious materials
can be found in the workplace, are:
• Human, animal and plant pathogens: Bacteria, including
those with drug resistance plasmids Fungi, Viruses,
including oncogenic viruses, Parasites
• All human blood, blood products, tissues and certain
body fluids
• Cultured cells (all human or certain animal) and
potentially infectious agents these cells may contain
viruses and other pathogenic micro-organisms.
• Allergens
• Toxins (bacterial, fungal, plant, etc.)
• Certain recombinant products
• Clinical specimens
• Infected animals and animal tissues
 Recent Biohazard Issues

A recent problem in the biological contamination

are has been Sydney's drinking water scares
with supplies contaminated by Giardia (Giardia
lamblia) and Cryptosporidium (Cryptosporidium
parvum).
Algae pollution of Jakarta bay and Arsenic
Pollution by Gold Mining Company in Sulawesi
 Giardia
• Giardia is a parasitic organism, which causes watery
diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and sometimes other
symptoms including fever and vomiting.
• The illness may last from several days to a couple of
weeks in otherwise healthy people.
• Giardia causes an illness called Giardiasis. It is
treated with prescribed drugs.
• Properly treated, the illness will generally pass in ten
days in otherwise healthy people.
• Among immuno-compromised people, symptoms of
Giardiasis may last many months and may have
serious consequences.
 Criptosporidium
• Criptosporidium is a parasite that is commonly excreted
by cattle and other animals and reaches surface waters
through the watershed.
• Cryptosporidium means "hidden spore" and the parasite
is troublesome because of the difficulty in detecting it.
• It is increasingly recognised as a fairly common cause of
diarrhoea around the world.
• The parasite survives in normally chlorinated water.
• The illness is passed on when the parasite is ingested.
• Transmission most often occurs through person-to-
person contact, but cryptosporidiosis can also be spread
through contaminated water, infected animals and in rare
cases food.
• A person is most infectious when they have diarrhoea,
but the bug may be excreted for several weeks after
symptoms go away.
• Outside the body, the parasite may remain infectious for
weeks or even months in water.
 Working Safely with Microorganisms

• The safest procedure to adopt while working with

microorganisms is to regard all micro-organisms as
potential pathogens, and treat them accordingly.
• A thorough knowledge and use of good laboratory
practice are of the utmost importance in the safe
handling of micro-organisms in the laboratory.
• Certain micro-organisms are hazardous if they are
handled on the open bench, usually because they
are readily transmitted by aerosols, or their
infectious dose is small.
• Others present special hazards from risk of
accidental self-inoculation.
 Work Practices
• No eating, drinking or storage of food in the laboratory.
• No mouth pipetting
• Adequate personal protective equipment, such as
laboratory coats, safety glasses and disposable gloves
should be provided to all workers and should be worn
and used by all workers.
• Any work that has the potential to produce aerosols
should be carried out in a biological safety cabinet.
• Particular care should be taken when handling petri
dish cultures of fungi to prevent the dispersal of fungal
spores.
• These cultures should be handled in Working Safely with
Micro-organisms a biosafety cabinet.
• All bench surfaces should be decontaminated with a
suitable disinfectant when work is complete or if a spill
has occurred.
• Transport any samples between laboratories or
autoclaves in the same building by placing the original
container inside a secondary sealed and unbreakable
container that can be easily decontaminated.
• lWhen flaming a wire loop draw the loop slowly from the
cooler to the hotter part of the flame to minimise the
spread of aerosol.
• Consideration should be given to the use of an electric
device for heating loops.
• Bunsen burners should not be used within a biosafety
cabinet as the integrity of the laminar air flow is
compromised.
• The preparation of reports should be done in an area
separate from the laboratory bench.
• Any labels required for specimens should be
selfadhesive rather than moistened with the tongue.
• All contaminated glassware and other items of
equipment should be suitably sterilised (usually by
autoclaving) before they are re-used.
• It is the responsibility of the laboratory supervisor to
ensure staff have adequate orientation, training and
supervision in their work and are aware
 HIV and Hepatitis B in the
Workplace
• Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. This
disease can be caused by a range of agents,
including workplace chemicals, alcohol
consumption and infection.
• Viral Hepatitis is divided in A, B and C types,
although more types and sub-types are being
identified.
• Hepatitis A is regarded as a less serious
problem than Hepatitis B or C, which are chronic
diseases and can sometimes be fatal.
• Vaccines are available for Hepatitis B and are
effective in most people (about 90%).
 HIV
• HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) or AIDS
(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a
virus which affects the immune system.
• A category of white blood cells (the helper T-
cells) are essential for immune response are
disrupted or killed by the virus, and the bodies
ability to fight infection is progressively eroded.
• HIV is a disease of long latency, and people
infected with the virus can remain healthy, and
can live and work normally for many years.
• HIV and Hepatitis B represent special problems,
because of the potentially lethal nature of the
diseases they cause, and the stigma attached to
these conditions, especially HIV.

• While these diseases are mainly transmitted by

non-occupational causes (through unprotected
sexual intercourse with an infected person,
through exchange of infected blood, and from
infected mother to infant) it is possible that
workers may come into contact with the
infectious agents that cause these conditions
during the course of their work.
 Policy Considerations
1. HIV and Hepatitis B should be treated as any other
chronic or life threatening disease;
2. Support will be provided to allow employees to
continue work as long as it is reasonably practicable
for them to do so, and that such support does not
pose a risk to the health and safety of themselves or
others;
3. Other employees are advised that there is no danger
of transmission through normal workplace contact;
4. Training is provided for employees about the
disease, ways of transmission and the importance of
prevention and maintaining confidentiality;
5. Suitable non-discriminatory practices are used and
that screening of workers is probably unnecessary;
6. Appropriate first aid and infection control
procedures are available.
 Developing a Control Program for Prevention of
Transmission of HIV andHepatitis B

1. in the health care industry, most notably during

anaesthetic procedures, in operating theatres,
during obstetrics procedures, during
pathological and post mortems procedures and
in accident or emergency departments;
2. in emergency response workers, including
ambulance officers and the police;
3. in laboratory workers;
4. in cleaners;
5. in dentists;
6. in prison officers.
 The main sources of transmission of HIV or Hepatitis B in
the workplace are:

• when sharps contaminated with infected blood

or body fluids penetrate the skin;
• when infected blood or body fluids splash into
they eyes or other mucous membranes onto
broken skin
 The potential for transmission of blood borne diseases is
greatest when needles, scalpels and other "sharps" are
being used. The first case of a health care worker
contracting HIV occurred in 1984.

• the nature of the exposure (precautions

used, depth of penetration and so on);
• the amount of blood or body fluid that
entered the body (the inoculum);
• the concentration of the infectious agent in
the inoculum;
• the virulence of the infectious agent.
A single needlestick with a needle contaminated with
Hepatitis B carries up to a 35% risk of infection.

Where a problem of • the employer is

transmission of HIV or identifying risks;
hepatitis exists, • determining the approach
employers should and methods involved in
develop a four stage risk assessment;
control program which • making decisions about
prevents transmission. control of risks;
This Control Program • when new information
should be developed in becomes available about
the diseases or safe work
consultation with practices;
employees. consultation • when the control program
should occur when: (or individual aspects) are
being evaluation.
 Contents of a Control Program for
Prevention of Transmission of HIV
andHepatitis B

There are four stages in the development

of a program for the prevention of
transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B to
workers
 Stage 1: Risk Identification

• Consultation with employees

• Direct workplace observation/survey
• Analysis of exposure reports for trends
and to identify high risk activities
• Establishing priorities to the tasks which
require action
 Stage 2: Risk Assessment

• The nature of the risk

• Frequency of exposure
• How employees are exposed to risks
• Workplace layout and equipment
• Workplace practices
• Infection control procedures
• Need for control
• Need for training
• Assessment of risks as acceptable or
unacceptable
 Stage 3: Risk Control

• Universal control
• Evaluation of adequacy of existing controls
• Evaluation of options for new controls using the
hierarchy of controls
• Disinfection and sterilisation procedures
• Immunisation of employees at risk (vaccines
only available for Hepatitis B)
• Safe provision of first aid in the workplace
commensurate with the risk
• Procedures for the management of employee
exposures to blood or body fluids
Stage 4: Monitoring and Evaluation

• Monitoring and evaluation of work practice

• Review of the Control Program