Bloodborne Pathogens vs Airborne Pathogens - What are the Key Differences?

If You find yourself in a high-risk workplace with constant exposure to bodily fluids, blood, or sick people, you may be wondering how you can protect yourself against the potential of getting infected. By taking an educational course to find out the methods of preventing infection and slowing the spread of the disease, you can stay safe and healthy at your job.

Along with learning about the preventive measures of disease, you should also know the difference between diseases spread via bodily fluids and those spread via the air, whether from coughing, sneezing, or talking. 

Bloodborne Pathogens vs Airborne Pathogens - What are the Key Differences?

When finding the differences between bloodborne and airborne pathogens, there are key differences that affect the symptoms of the disease, how the disease is spread, and how individuals can stop and curb the spread of this illness in daily life.

Bloodborne Pathogens

What are bloodborne pathogens? Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms that are passed through bodily fluids, like blood and saliva. You can contract bloodborne pathogens via bacteria or viruses, with the treatment method for each disease being different depending on the cause of the illness. 

Bloodborne pathogens are slightly less easy to transmit between two people than airborne pathogens since there has to be an exchange of bodily fluids, saliva, sweat, semen, secretions, or spinal fluid. Bloodborne items? Some ways you can be infected involve human bites, needlesticks, touching infected cuts, sharing infected needles, unprotected sex, or sharing personal items with an infected person. 

The most common types of bloodborne pathogens involved hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.

● Hepatitis B is a virus that attacks the liver, with 9 out of 10 cases being reasonably mild for infected people. The most common way to get hepatitis B is through infected needles, sharing grooming implements, or unprotected sex. 

● Hepatitis C attacks the liver but is more dangerous than hepatitis B, with 85% of people with this illness having further health issues like liver failure. This disease is usually contracted via infected needles, needlesticks, or unprotected sex. 

● HIV is the virus that causes AIDS if left untreated, causing your immune system to slowly fail over time. This disease is sexually transmitted or can be caught via sharing needles or a needlestick injury. 

Airborne Pathogens

What are airborne pathogens? Airborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms that cause various diseases and can be transmitted through the air. The problem with airborne pathogens is the leisurely rate of spreading, since the microorganisms either fall from the person via sneezing or coughing and land on a surface, where they can live for an amount of time.

If you touch this surface after a person sneezes on it, you will soon become infected with the airborne pathogen. In addition, if a person talks in your face or coughs in the air around you, you can also become infected with the pathogen. Due to the ease with which airborne pathogens can be transmitted, these diseases can quickly spread and become viral in days. 

Conclusion

There are critical differences between airborne and bloodborne pathogens, making it essential to know how each one is spared and the severity of each type of disease. Employees should take bloodborne pathogens training to understand how to stop or slow the spread of infectious diseases.