Preventing Infections in Personal Services. Tan to Tattoos and Beyond

Introduction. What Health Risks are Involved in Personal Service Settings? What are Pathogens of Concern in Personal Service Settings? Nontuberculosis Mycobacterium. What are Microbicides? Microbicide Levels. Which Microbicides are Acceptable Ffor use in what Situation? Requiremnets to use Microbicides Effectively. Licensing, Labelling and Classification Standards for Microbicides. Wiping to Decontaminate Instruments. High-touch Environmental Surfaces (HTES) and Skin. Hand Hygiene and Skin Antisepsis. Disposable Items Sterilization. Observations and Concerns with Specific Services. Body Modification, Surgery, Prescription Medicine and Controlled Acts. Standard Precautions. Legislation, Licensing in Training in Personal Services Workers and Public Health Inspectors. What Guidelines are Available? Who wants what? What is being done? What is the Future? Recommendations. Concluding Remarks.

This book comprehensively covers the prevention of infection in personal service settings based on technically sound information. The book emphasizes the proper selection, use and disposal of disinfectants and antiseptics for optimal effectiveness. It also emphasizes why human health risks from procedures in personal service settings are currently underestimated. The role of hand hygiene for client and operator safety is discussed and details given on the proper selection and use of handwash and handrub agents. There is also a listing of current regulations and guidelines available worldwide while noting the need for their updating and standardization.

Christian Lapensee is a Public Health Inspector and a graduate of Ryerson University. He works for Ottawa Public Health, and has been involved in research, education, promotion and enforcement of infection prevention and control procedures and practices used in Personal Services Settings since 1992. In addition, he has closely interacted with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in creating the Infection Prevention & Control Best Practices for Personal Services Settings, 2009, the Infection Prevention and Control Personal Services Settings Protocol 2008, and the Ontario Public Health Standards 2008. He has also been working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to create federal guidelines for Personal Services Settings.

As part of the research involved in developing Personal Services Settings guidelines, he has been active with various municipal, provincial, federal and national Personal Services Settings working groups and has worked with Public Health Units, the Canadian Institute for Public Health Inspectors, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Standards Association and various infection prevention and control regulatory agencies and stakeholders across North America.

Dr. Sattar is Emeritus Professor of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa (Canada). For over 40 years now he has been researching the fate of human pathogens in the environment and the interruption of their spread using safer and better means of environmental control. He is an active member of several international standards-setting organizations, and microbicide test methods developed by him now form the basis for numerous national and international standards. He has served as an advisor to the Government of Canada, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the World Health Organization, International Civil Aviation Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He has delivered more than 330 invited lectures and papers worldwide, published over 200 papers and chapters in books/conference proceedings, authored/co-authored three books, four lab manuals, three monographs, and written numerous commissioned reviews.

Dr. Sattar is a Registered Microbiologist of the Canadian College of Microbiologists and an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He is also a member of the editorial boards of the Am. J. Infect. Control, International J. Infect. Control, and Medizin & Hyg. The more recent of his numerous awards, international fellowships and other distinctions are: (a) the Martin S. Favero Lectureship of the Assoc. of Professionals in Infect. Control & Epidemiology (June 2006), (b) Lifetime Achievement Award of the Ottawa Centre for Research & Innovation (Sept. 2007), (c) Hygieia Gold Medal of the Rudolf Schülke Foundation, Hamburg Germany (Nov. 2009), (d) Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (Dec. 2012), and (e) Distinguished Microbiologist Award of the Canadian College of Microbiologists (Feb 2014).