Dr Piyush Tailor

1. Protection of staff against laboratory infection

1. All laboratory personnel are informed of the hazards including transmission of viral infection involved in working in a laboratory. Possible route of infection may be skin abrasion or puncture or through body orifices.
2. In case of incidental exposure to infected (HIV reactive) samples like needle stick injury, wash the hand with soap &water and shall immediately be reported to authority. Use post exposure prophylaxis as per guidelines of regulatory authority.
3. Immunization of the laboratory staff against hepatitis-B infection is implemented.

2. Personnel Protection

1. Access to the lab is restricted to authorized personnel only.
2. All work surfaces are decontaminated after any spillage and at the end of each working day,
3. The staff is made aware of universal precautions as under

• Hands

1. Wash hands before leaving the laboratory, and before eating or drinking.
2. Wash hands immediately after they have been in contact with blood or blood products.
3. Wear disposable gloves when handling all materials suspected of being infective or when opening samples of blood.
4. Keep open wounds and cuts covered with an adhesive dressing or disposable gloves during working.
5. Never invert a tube containing blood or a blood derivative by covering the mouth of the tube with a finger.

• Coats

1. Always use a clean lab coat with buttons closed- while working.
2. If a laboratory coat becomes -soiled with blood or serum, change to a clean one. The soiled coat should be soaked in hypochlorite or autoclaved before it is laundered.
3. Do not wear lab coat when you proceed for lunch.

• Mouth

1. Do not put fingers or other objects such as pens, in the mouth.
2. Do not use mouth pipeting
3. Eating, drinking, smoking is not permitted in any working area of the laboratory.
4. No food or beverage be stored in any laboratory refrigerator, freezer, hot air oven or incubator.

• Avoiding needle stick injuries
• Never recap or bend needles
• Dispose all sharps in puncture proof containers.