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By
Catherine M. Pruissen
HIV
(Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that leads
to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is transmitted
from one person to another by blood, body fluids containing
blood, vaginal secretions, sperm, breast milk, and
through unprotected intercourse or sharing contaminated
needles. It is also transmitted from mother to child
during pregnancy, delivery, or by breastfeeding.
In
order to transmit HIV three conditions must be present:
- The
blood must be fresh
- It
must be in a sufficient quantity
- It
must have a route of entry into the bloodstream
of the infected person.
It
is important for child care centres and family dayhome
providers to adopt universal precautions to control
the spread of any infection, including HIV.
Where blood is involved, it is also important to use
universal precautions, the measures developed to deal
with blood-borne diseases like HIV and hepatitis B.
These universal precautions include:
- Wash
hands immediately after exposure to blood
- Cover
cuts
- Use
absorbent material to stop bleeding
- Wear
disposable latex gloves when there is a lot of blood
or if you have open cuts. Wash hands immediately
after removing gloves
- Immediately
clean blood-soiled surfaces with a bleach solution
(household bleach kills HIV)
- Machine-wash
bloodstained laundry separately in hot soapy water
- Place
bloodstained materials in sealed plastic bags and
discard in a lined, covered garbage container.
HIV
is a fragile virus, and no cases of transmission through
casual contact have been reported in child care anywhere
in the world. HIV is not transmitted by:
- Touching,
hugging, or kissing
- Sharing
food, dishes, drinking glasses, or cutlery
- Being
coughed, sneezed or cried on
- Sharing
toys, even those that have been mouthed
- Diapers
or toilet seats
- Urine,
stool, vomit, saliva, mucus, or sweat (as long as
it is untainted by blood).
Adapted
from the Canadian Child Care Federation's Resource
Sheet #33, HIV/AIDS AND CHILD CARE. You can
contact the Canadian Child Care Federation at: 120
Holland Avenue, Suite 306, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 0X6.
Telephone: (613) 729-5289. Fax: (613) 729-3159.
(See
Business Forms
in our Exclusive Products
section to order ready-to-use Medical
Information Forms and other valuable forms .)
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©
Catherine M. Pruissen
Catherine M. Pruissen is the CEO of About Child Care
Consumer Services and developer of child care online.
She has published numerous child care related literature,
including Start and
Run a Profitable Home Day Care, The
Daycare Alternative, How to Find Good Child Care,
Caregiver Aids: Business
Forms for Caregivers and Parents, Income
Tax & Record Keeping for Child Care Providers,
and a host of workshops and workbooks. She was the editor
and publisher of the bi-monthly newsletter, Parent Care,
Your Child Care News-line. Catherine was also the coordinator
and workshop facilitator for The Child Care Information
Centre in Calgary, Alberta, and ran a successful dayhome
for eight years. |
