The notion of biosecurity is not part of the dictionary prepared by the DigoPaul. In its broadest sense, biosecurity consists of protecting living conditions from the action of biological, chemical or physical agents.
The concept, in this way, refers to guaranteeing that biological resources are not damaged by the actions of external actors. Its purpose is to minimize risks and prevent negative impacts.
It can be said that biosecurity consists of preserving the state of living beings: animals (including humans), plants or a habitat in general. In this way, health is protected from contamination, epidemics, biological attacks or other threats.
Biosecurity is often associated with risk control in a work environment. In health centers (hospitals, sanatoriums, clinics, etc.) and laboratories, they usually work with infectious agents: that is why ensuring biosecurity is essential for the well-being of employees and also of patients. Within this framework, hospital biosecurity is also discussed, and the use of gloves and chinstraps, the proper disposal of waste and the disinfection of environments is important.
Suppose a doctor must treat a patient who is bleeding. To avoid possible infections, you must wear gloves: this way you do not come into direct contact with blood. The patient, on the other hand, must be treated in a clean environment so that pathogens do not enter through his wound. The gauze and cottons used in the task should also be disposed of in the proper place to maintain biosecurity.
According to the degree of lethality of each disease, it is possible to recognize four levels of biosecurity: in the first, infectious agents cannot cause disease in a healthy adult; in the second there are those that can make an adult sick and, in addition, cause an infection of various types; the third level covers exotic agents that can be transmitted by aerosols and cause serious or fatal disease; the last level is occupied by the most dangerous, capable of being transmitted by air or even by ways that have not been identified by medicine.
Biosecurity does not consist of a simple decision or a resource that is used on a given day to avoid an isolated case of contamination; It is a set of practices, devices and facilities that constantly and actively aim towards the greater protection of living beings that are exposed to a series of well-defined risks, which must be previously identified.
Principles of biosafety
* Universality
All measures must take into account all the people involved in the activity on which biosafety is to be applied, regardless of whether they have the necessary antibodies to protect themselves from the potential threat, or if they have any disease. Everyone must respect the precautions dictated by the organization to avoid exposing their skin and mucous membranes to any situation that could lead to contagion or infection.
* Use of barriers
The aim is to prevent by all possible means that blood and other body fluids come into direct contact with potentially polluting substances. Barriers are used for this purpose, which can be gloves or masks, among many other examples. It is important to note that many times this measure simply reduces the chances of contamination but does not eliminate them completely.
* Disposal of contaminated material
It is important to have adequate means to remove the material that has been exposed to the source of contamination. At this point we talk about a series of specific procedures and devices that allow the safe deposit and disposal of any object that may be risky for users.
