Shama & Ahlfeld~ReposVers.pdf (1.09 MB)
Contamination
chapter
posted on 2012-11-30, 14:10 authored by Gilbert Shama, Birte AhlfieldMicro-organisms can be transported through the environment in a number of ways; they can be conveyed in liquids or in aerosols, on particles of solids, or either inside objects or on their surfaces. An object or environment can become contaminated either by direct contact with a carrier of contamination or by contact with some intermediary that has itself has come into direct contact with a source of micro-organisms (Figure 1). Almost anything can qualify as an intermediary according to the definition given above. For example, as Figure 2 shows a person may sneeze into her hand and then transfer viral particles from her hand to a door handle which, as a result, becomes a source of infection. To give another example, a healthcare worker treating a patient infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria may transmit the infection to another patient simply by hand contact. As used here, the term contamination will be taken as referring to the unwanted transfer of infectious biological agents from one location to another. Moreover, the term ‘infectious biological agent’ is meant to include both prokaryotic and eukaryotic micro-organisms, viruses and prions. [continues...]
History
School
- Aeronautical, Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering
Department
- Chemical Engineering
Citation
SHAMA, G. and AHLFIELD, B., 2012. Contamination. IN: Laroussi, M. ... et al. (eds.) Plasma Medicine - Applications of Low-temperature Gas Plasmas in Medicine and Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter 5, pp. 99 - 114.Publisher
© Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press © M. Laroussi, M. Kong, G. Morfill and W. StolzVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publication date
2012Notes
This book chapter was accepted for publication in Plasma Medicine - Applications of Low-temperature Gas Plasmas in Medicine and Biology [Cambridge University Press © M. Laroussi, M. Kong, G. Morfill and W. Stolz] and the publisher's website is at: http://www.cambridge.orgISBN
9781107006430Language
- en