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Boulder Valley School District
Adopted: January 8, 2019
Revised: April 28, 2026
PREVENTION OF DISEASE/INFECTION TRANSMISSION (REGULATION)
(HANDLING BODY FLUIDS & SUBSTANCES)
Associated Policy: EBBA - Prevention of Disease/Infection Transmission
The body fluids and substances of all persons should be considered to contain potentially infectious agents. No distinction may be made between body fluids and substances from individuals with a known disease or infection and those from asymptomatic or undiagnosed individuals. Body fluids and substances include blood, drainage from scrapes and cuts, feces, urine, vomitus, respiratory secretions, and saliva.
The following infection control practices shall be followed by all School District personnel in all situations involving potential contact with any body fluids and substances:
1. Wear gloves when it is likely that hands will be in contact with body fluids or substances. When possible, wear gloves. Gloves should be kept in emergency response kits and be readily accessible at sites where students seek assistance for bloody noses or injuries.
a. If gloves are not available, the use of towels or some other clean material as a barrier may provide some protection.
b. Cuts and sores on your skin should be routinely covered to avoid infection.
c. When possible, have students wash off their own cuts and abrasions. After cuts are washed with soap and water, they should be covered with Band-Aids or bandages of the appropriate size. Where possible, students should be taught to hold their own bloody noses.
2. When possible, pocket face masks should be used for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
3. Wash hands often and well, paying particular attention to areas around and under fingernails and between fingers.
4. Clean up as soon as possible after any skin contact with any body fluid or substance.
a. Wash skin with soap and water.
b. Wash contaminated surfaces and non-disposable items with standard disinfectant.
c. Wash contaminated clothing and linen in detergent with hot water.
d. Contaminated tissues, paper towels and other disposable items should be placed in plastic bags and immediately discarded in external trash container.
Use individual judgment in determining when barriers are needed for unpredictable situations. It is strongly recommended that barriers be used when contact with body fluids or substances is anticipated.
It is extremely difficult to be infected with HIV/AIDS. Exposure of blood to intact skin is a highly unlikely way of being infected with HIV/AIDS. Other body substances (saliva, tears, urine or feces) have extremely small, if any, levels of virus. HIV is easily destroyed by common disinfectants.
COVID-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. It is thought that the virus may spread to hands from a contaminated surface and then to the nose or mouth, causing infection.
Personal prevention practices, such as handwashing, staying home when sick, and environmental cleaning and disinfection are encouraged to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses.
A table listing communicable diseases and body substance sources of infection follows.
Transmission Concerns - Body Substance Sources of Infectious Agents
Body Substance Source |
Organism of
|
Transmission |
|---|---|---|
| Blood - cuts/abrasions - nose bleeds - menses - contaminated needle |
Hepatitis B virus HIV/AIDS Cytomegalovirus |
Bloodstream inoculation through cuts and abrasions on hands Direct blood stream inoculation |
|
Feces - incontinence |
Hepatitis A virus Salmonella bacteria Shigella bacteria C. difficile |
Oral inoculation from contaminated hands |
|
Respiratory secretions - saliva |
Common cold virus Epstein-Barr virus Influenza virus Measles |
Oral inoculation from contaminated hands |
| Vomitus | Gastrointestinal viruses (e.g., Norwalk virus) |
Oral inoculation from contaminated hands |
|
Urine - incontinence |
Cytomegalovirus | Bloodstream inoculation through cuts and abrasions on hands |