Biological Hazards Analysis

Biological hazards (biohazards) present the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professional with complex challenges due to the large number and variety of potential agents and their effects (Pryor & Capra 2012). Many biohazards are capable of bringing potential risk and diseases factor to be transmitted from one person to another person. Organisms or organic matters produced by these organisms that are harmful and dangerous to human health are referring as biological hazards. These include fungi, moulds, bacteria and viruses. Because of their invisible and frequently undetectable nature, biohazards are considered “silent hazards”. Transmission through the respiratory system, contact with body fluids of the infected and contaminated objects

Due to a great variety in the biological hazards, it is a significant risk factor for many professions especially for those workers who work in health care and laboratory. Worker work in healthcare professions are exposed to biological hazards. They are exposed to those biological hazards with the contact of human bodily matter. For instance, it can be blood, saliva, mucous, urine and faeces from human. These substances contain high risk of viral or bacterial diseases and are threatened by human pathogens. Dust-borne biological allergens and toxins by parasitic worms in warm climates also place agriculture workers at risk. People are exposed to harmful animal diseases and infections especially for those who work with infectious animals and animal products such as blood, tissues and cell. Zoonoses have the potential to infect humans. Q-fever, avian flu or Hendra virus are the diseases that might transmitted to human. It cause serious allergy via sensitization of those substances. People also face with the harmful of biological hazards in the work environment. Exposure to biological hazards is therefore extensive and widespread. Besides, the risk of exposure of biological hazards is not always

It cannot multiply outside the host cell. Their survival as naked particles in the environment is limited ranging from several hours to a few weeks. Viruses can only infect cell when appropriate receptors are present. When a virus infects a host cell, it utilizes the metabolic machinery of that cell to replicate itself. They are very much smaller than bacteria. It cannot be controlled by antibiotics. They appear to various shapes and are continually developing new strains. The replication process results in the production of many additional copies of the infecting virus. These are subsequently liberated into surrounding to infect other target