Personal Protective Equipment and Hygiene

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is specialised clothing worn by an employee for protection against infectious materials. PPE prevents contact made with infectious agents that contain an infectious agent by creating a barrier between the potential infectious material and the health care worker or person doing the audit.

 

Figure 16.64 Personal Protective ClothingPersonal Protective Gear.

 

To put together your own PPE kit, gather supplies.

Disposable PPE kits should contain the following:

  • One disposable gown
  • One pair of gloves
  • A face shield
  • Hair and shoe covers
  • Red bag

Protective clothing is applied to traditional categories of clothing and protective gear applies to all employees who practice biosecurity.

 

Personal Hygiene in the Healthcare Sector

Microbes spread easily in health care due to physical contact being made between health care professionals, patients and family members. Maintaining good personal hygiene significantly reduces the risk of cross-contamination and transmission of contagious infections among people.

5 Reasons regarding personal hygiene:

  • Improved self-esteem, and taking care of ourselves make us feel better about ourselves
  • Personal hygiene makes you a great role model
  • Hand hygiene reduces sick days and lost productivity
  • Hand hygiene is crucial in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
  • Good hygiene lowers the risk of diseases and illnesses usually spread through bacteria and viruses.
  • Good personal hygiene saves lives

Specific components of PPE include the following:

Specific components of PPE.

Gloves

Gloves help protect you when directly handling potentially infectious materials or contaminated surfaces.

Gowns

Gowns help protect you from the contamination of clothing with potentially infectious material.

Shoe and head covers

Shoes and head cover provide a barrier against possible exposure to a contaminated environment.

Masks and respirators

Surgical masks help protect your nose and mouth from splattered body fluids, respirators filter the air before you inhale it.

Other face and eye protection

Goggles help protect only your eyes from splatters. A face shield provides splatter protection to facial skin, eyes, nose and mouth

 

(Personal Protective Equipment)

A. Footwear

Staff or visitors such as vets or animal health techs should change into boots or wear disposable boot covers. Foot baths can be used, but cannot replace a change of footwear when moving from the CAZ to the RA. Footbaths are not changed daily, when they are contaminated with organic material they do not protect against bacteria or disease. With repeated use, foot baths have been proven to provide a perfect breeding environment for bacteria.

B. Clothes

Farm workers and others should wear specific clothing when moving from the CAZ to the RA. Visitors should wear specific overalls. You should have boots or disposable covers and overalls available for your visitors.

C. Hand Washing

Before any staff enters and after exiting the RA, one should wash their hands with soap, sanitise them or wear gloves. When handling dead birds one should use gloves, wash their hands with soap, and sanitise as soon as possible afterwards.

Your equipment can carry pathogens so you must be free of any visible organic matter. Equipment brought into the RA from another premise should be cleaned and disinfected first.

D. Cleaning

Those parts of the building, equipment and utensils that are in contact with the chickens shall be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected every time after the final depopulation is carried out before a new flock is introduced into the house, all litter must be removed and clean litter must be provided.