|
The second aspect that must be considered is who will care for the animals. A person with a hypersensitivity to reptiles and amphibians strictly cannot assume this responsibility themselves. Doing so could be dangerous and would not be in the best interest of the individual who has been diagnosed with an allergic hypersensitivity. This individual must recruit the help of a close family member, a friend, or possibly a hired hand who will be solely responsible for husbandry and maintenance duties. This individual must abide by a strict isolation protocol in order to prevent the possibility of exposing the hypersensitive individual living in the same household.
This individual must have a separate pair of cloths that are to be worn only when cleaning and these cloths should never leave this room. Upon entry, the maintenance personnel should close the door behind them, change clothes while inside the designated working area and before they begin cleaning they should please their “clean” street clothes just outside the door of the designated working area. This will ensure against the contamination of their clothes while cleaning, while ensuring the clothes are readily accessible when they are finished. While cleaning the assistant should wear a long sleeve shirt, long pants, closed toed shoes with shoe covers, a bouffant cap, a hospital face mask and latex/neoprene gloves to prevent the spread of antigenic material.
When finished, the room should be gently swept with a broom and dust pan to remove large debris from the floor, while being careful to prevent the aerosolization of dust. This debris should be placed in the appropriate plastic waste bag. A wet mop should be used to clean the floor. This item should also remain in the room when finished. After the floors have been mopped adequately, the bouffant cap, mask, gloves and shoe covers should be disposed of in the appropriate plastic waste bag along with the remaining outgoing waste. At this time the assistant should retrieve their “clean” street clothes from outside of the door of designated working area. The assistant should change their clothes within the designated work area and their “dirty” clothes must be double bagged in a fashion similar to the technique described for waste disposal however, the work clothing should be set aside and left in the room for later use.
The assistant should then dip the bottom of both shoes into a foot bath containing a mild concentration of hypoallergenic dish detergent in water to wash away antigens that may be present on the bottom of their shoes before exiting the room. After this individual has exited the room, they should shower and change into a fresh pair of cloths. The “clean” street clothing should then be washed.
|