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Freebase Commons Metaweb System Types /type

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Freebase Commons Common /common

  • A blood-borne disease is one that can be spread through contamination by blood and other body fluids. The most common examples are HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and viral hemorrhagic fevers. Diseases that are not usually transmitted directly by blood contact, but rather by insect or other vector, are more usefully classified as vector-borne disease, even though the causative agent can be found in blood. Vector-borne diseases include West Nile virus and malaria. Many blood-borne diseases can also be transmitted by other means, including high-risk sexual behavior or intravenous drug use. These diseases have also been identified in sports medicine. Since it is difficult to determine what pathogens any given blood contains, and some blood-borne diseases are lethal, standard medical practice regards all blood as potentially infectious. Blood and Body Fluid precautions are a type of infection control practice that seeks to minimize this sort of disease transmission. Blood poses the greatest threat to health in a laboratory or clinical setting due to needlestick injuries.

Freebase Commons Medicine /medicine