The concept that lab personnel should treat all blood and body fluids as capable of transmitting infectious diseases is known as?

The concept that lab personnel should treat all blood and body fluids as capable of transmitting infectious diseases is known as?

• A. Universal precautions
• B. Standard precautions
• C. Biohazard safety
• D. Personal safety

Answer: (A)

Universal precautions are built on the idea of treating all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious. This means you apply the same safety measures every time you handle specimens or come into contact with body fluids—using appropriate PPE (gloves, gown, eye/face protection as needed), performing proper hand hygiene, safely disposing of sharps, and thoroughly disinfecting work surfaces. By assuming any blood or body fluid could harbor pathogens, you minimize the risk of transmission of infections like HIV or hepatitis, regardless of the known infection status of the source. Standard precautions cover similar safety practices but widen the scope to include all body fluids and non-intact skin, making universal precautions the specific concept described here. The other terms are either broader safety programs or not as directly tied to the infectious-disease transmission approach described.

Universal precautions are built on the idea of treating all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious. This means you apply the same safety measures every time you handle specimens or come into contact with body fluids—using appropriate PPE (gloves, gown, eye/face protection as needed), performing proper hand hygiene, safely disposing of sharps, and thoroughly disinfecting work surfaces. By assuming any blood or body fluid could harbor pathogens, you minimize the risk of transmission of infections like HIV or hepatitis, regardless of the known infection status of the source. Standard precautions cover similar safety practices but widen the scope to include all body fluids and non-intact skin, making universal precautions the specific concept described here. The other terms are either broader safety programs or not as directly tied to the infectious-disease transmission approach described.