Health personnel may be exposed to a wide variety of microorganisms in the blood and saliva of patients. Since it is not always possible to tell who is carrying an infectious disease, it is imperative to treat every patient as if they are infectious. This practice is known as Standard Precautions.

The essence of basic asepsis in health care cannot be overemphasized. It is important for the welfare of the patient as well as for the staff, faculty and students.

In order to achieve appropriate infection control in the health facility the following procedures in this manual should be strictly adhered to.