Chain of Infection | Description of each Component of the Chain of Infection | Potential Intervention or Protection |
| Agent | Common cold is a viral infection believed to be caused by more than 200 strains of virus. Rhinoviruses are the most common causative agent (Lambert, 2017). | N/A |
| Reservoir(s) | The reservoir in the case of this infection is someone who is carrying this virus. | An intervention can happen through medicating the person suffering from the cold infection. |
| Portal(s) of Exit | The most common portal exit of the virus is through coughing or sneezing. This can also exit through physical contact or holding on to objects such as utensils. | Cover the mouth when coughing or sneezing. Carefully clean the hands before being in contact with commonly shared items. Cough or sneeze into tissues and effectively dispose them (Holland, 2016). |
| Model(s) of Transmission | This is transmitted through direct contact to the new host. | Avoid direct contact with infected persons. Cover the points of entry of the virus when in a stuffy environment with people that are infected. |
| Portal(s) of Entry | The portals of entry include eyes, nose or mouth through inhalation where the virus enter the body from contaminated air (Holland, 2016). It can also enter through contact with infected persons or infected items such as towels, then the points of contact get in contact with the mouth, nose or eyes. | Thorough cleaning of the hands with the help of soap and water. Use of sanitizers in disinfecting hands. |
| Host Characteristics | Running nose. Stuffy nose. Sneezing. Losing the senses of taste or smell or both. Headache. Sore throat. Coughing. Chest pains and irritation. General fatigue. Fever. | Covering the nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing. Use suppression medication for common cold. Staying hydrated and resting. Use nasal decongestants (Deckx et al., 2016). Use warm salt water for gargling. Taking warm baths in efforts to facilitate rest and comfort. |
References
Deckx, L., De Sutter, A. I., Guo, L., Mir, N. A., & van Driel, M. L. (2016). Nasal decongestants in monotherapy for the common cold. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (10).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Holland, K., (2016). Everything You Need to Know About the Common Cold. Healthline , retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/cold
Lambert, L. (2017). Not so much fun in the summer! Surviving a summer cold. SA Pharmacist's Assistant , 17(4), 12-14.
