The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
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Infectious waste is that portion of medical waste that is contaminated with pathogens that may be able to transmit an infectious disease; it is also referred to as regulated medical waste. Infectious waste represents a small percentage (usually between 5 and 15 percent) of a health care facility's total waste stream. In the United States each state defines and sets standards for management, treatment and disposal of infectious waste. Most definitions concur that the following wastes should be classified as infectious waste: sharps (i.e., needles, scalpels, etc.), laboratory cultures and stocks, blood and blood products, pathological wastes, and wastes generated from patients in isolation because they are known to have an infectious disease. Infectious wastes can be treated (disinfected or sterilized) by thermal or chemical means prior to disposal.
For an infectious disease to be transmitted from contact with waste, there must be a sufficient concentration of pathogens (e.g., bacteria, viruses), a portal of entry, a mode of transmission, and sufficient virulence of the pathogen to affect a susceptible host. As a result the wastes of greatest concern in transmitting diseases are sharps (needles, scalpels, etc.).
Rutala, William A., and Mayhall, C. Glen. (1992). "Medical Waste: The Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America Position Paper." Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 13:38–48.
World Health Organization. (1999). Safe Management of Wastes from Health-Care Activities, edited by A. Pruss, E. Giroult, and P. Rushbrook. Geneva: World Health Organization Publications.
Centers for Disease Control Web site. Available from http://www.cdc.com.