What is the difference between infection and affection

The healthcare environment can expose patients to infection risks that they may not encounter elsewhere. Understanding how infections become established, and how they are transmitted, is essential for effective infection prevention and control.

There are opportunities to break or disrupt the chain at any link: though the rapid and accurate diagnosis of an infectious disease; the prompt treatment of infected patients; the safe disposal of waste; the sterilisation and disinfection of medical equipment or the implementation of an environmental decontamination strategy. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible.

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This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Skip to content Skip to navigation. Homepage Education What are the 6 links in the chain of infection?

What are the 6 links in the chain of infection? Download 6 Links in the Chain of Infection Summary. View and save infographic. The 6 links in the chain of infection 1. The pathogen The first link in the chain of infection is the infectious agent or pathogen which can take the form of: Viruses — such as Influenza A, shingles and Hepatitis Bacteria — including Lyme disease and Leptospirosis Fungi — for example Candidiasis and Aspergillosis Parasitic protozoan diseases — such as Malaria, Giardia and Toxoplasmosis Prions — which are the cause of rare progressive neurodegenrative disorders such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease CJD How well any pathogen is able to thrive depends on three factors: Its pathogenicity — its ability to produce disease Its degree of virulence — its severity or harmfulness Its invasiveness — its tendency to spread 2.

The reservoir A reservoir is the principal habitat in which a pathogen lives, flourishes and is able to multiply. Common reservoirs for infectious agents include humans, animals or insects and the environment.

Oral and topical medicines are available for flea and tick control; avoid using flea collars because kids can handle them and become sick from the chemicals they contain. Check your pet regularly for fleas and ticks, as well as bites and scratches that may make them more open to infection. Keep your pet leashed when outdoors and keep it away from animals that look sick or may be unvaccinated. And, finally, spay or neuter your pet. Spaying and neutering may reduce your pet's contact with other animals that may be infected, especially if your pet goes outdoors.

Reviewed by: Stephen C. Eppes, MD. Infectious Diseases at Nemours Children's Health. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. How Pets Spread Infections Like people, all animals carry germs.

Healthy Family, Healthy Pets But you don't have to give up your family's furry friends either. Page 2 Dogs and Cats Dogs and cats are popular pets but can carry infections such as: Campylobacter infection : can be spread by household pets carrying Campylobacter jejuni bacteria, which cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever in people. The bacteria may be in the intestinal tract of infected dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, and certain farm animals. A person can become infected through contact with contaminated water, feces, undercooked meat, or unpasteurized milk.

More than 2 million cases of campylobacter infection happen each year in the United States, and C. These infections are contagious, especially among members of the same family and kids in childcare or preschools. Infection is treated with antibiotics. Cat scratch disease : can happen when a person is bitten or scratched by a cat infected with Bartonella henselae bacteria.

Symptoms include swollen and tender lymph nodes, fever, headaches, and tiredness, which usually ease without treatment. However, a doctor may prescribe antibiotics if the infection is severe. Cat scratch disease rarely causes long-term complications. Rabies : a serious illness caused by a virus that enters the body through a bite or wound contaminated by the saliva from an infected animal.

Animals that may carry the rabies virus include dogs, cats, raccoons, bats, skunks, and foxes. Widespread immunization of dogs and cats has decreased the transmission of rabies in these animals and in people. Human rabies is rare in the United States, and a vaccine is available for treatment following a bite from a potentially rabid animal. These ticks are frequently carried by dogs.

Symptoms include high fever, chills, muscle aches, and headaches, and a rash that may spread across the wrists, ankles, palms, soles, and trunk of the body. RMSF, which can be treated with antibiotics, is most common in the south central and the mid-south Atlantic regions of the United States. Ringworm : a skin infection caused by several types of fungi found in the soil and on the skin of humans and pets.

Kids can get ringworm from touching infected animals such as dogs and cats. Ringworm of the skin, or tinea corporis, usually is a dry, scaly round area with a raised red bumpy border and a clear center. When the scalp is affected, the area may be flaky, red, or swollen. Often there are bald patches.

Ringworm is treated with antifungal medicines including shampoo, cream, or oral medicine. Toxocariasis : an illness caused by the parasitic roundworm Toxocara , which lives in the intestines of dogs and cats. The eggs from the worms are passed in the feces of dogs and cats, often contaminating soil where kids play.

Non-infectious diseases, however, are non-communicable, meaning they cannot be transmitted through exposure to a carrier. Instead, they appear or grow due to factors such as gene mutations, malnutrition, environmental toxins and lifestyle. Infectious diseases are transmitted from person-to-person through the transfer of a pathogen such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.

A non-infectious disease cannot be transmitted through a pathogen and is caused by a variety of other circumstantial factors. Infectious disease and non-infectious disease require different prevention strategies to protect individuals or groups from falling ill.

Prevention strategies for infectious disease focus on isolating individuals who have the disease to protect the broader population, and vaccinating against known strains to prevent transmission. During a pandemic, or outbreak, certain measures may be taken to stop the spread, such as disinfecting surfaces that are frequently touched.

Individuals are also encouraged to wash their hands regularly with soap and warm water, and to self-isolate if they develop signs or symptoms to prevent transmission.

Preventative measures for non-infectious disease are focused on lifestyle choices and patterns , which have been identified as potentially effective through clinical research. You can reduce your risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes, for example, by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and consuming a balanced diet. Not all non-infectious diseases, however, can be prevented.

While you can prevent alcoholic liver damage by abstaining from drinking or consuming alcohol less frequently, the liver can also be damaged by exposure to hazardous chemicals and toxins. You can help stop the spread of infectious diseases.

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