Universities' Collaboration in eLearning (UCEL)

RLO: Hand Hygiene

Routes of spread of infection

From an early age, you would have been taught to wash your hands after going to the toilet. This simple act was to prevent infecting yourself via the faecal-oral route.

As a healthcare worker, you have a responsibility not only to protect yourself from infection, but all the patients in your care. You need to know of other ways that infection can spread - by ingestion, droplets, air-borne, blood, other bodily fluids and direct contact.

Direct contact by the hands of healthcare workers is a major cause of Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI)

Supporting Audio
patient sitting in chair and patient sitting in chair

Routes of Spread of infection

Ingestion

Blood

Droplets

Other bodily fluids

Air-borne

Direct contact