Augmented Reality and Tangible Interfaces for Learning
M. Carmen Juan Lizandra · InTech eBooks · 2009
IntroductionSouth Africa is amongst countries that are facing serious challenges with regard to HIV/AIDS and institutions of HIV/AIDS hospices have been introduced in many areas of the country to help with the care of patients infected by HIV.As in any domestic setting, the safety and quality of food served in a hospice depend on the kitchen design, storage conditions, and food preparation practices of the food handlers.Micro-organisms in such areas can become airborne when droplets are generated while cleaning, cooking, preparing food, speaking, coughing, sneezing or vomiting.Most residential and hospice kitchens do not normally use air-filtration systems as it is the situation in hospitals.This means that the principal factors governing the levels of airborne particles indoor are: indoor sources, outdoor particle levels, the deposition rate of particles on indoor surfaces, and the air exchange rate (Nazaroff, 2004).Exposure of building occupants to certain micro-organisms, and elevated concentrations of environmental organisms, could result in allergenic reactions, irritant responses, toxicosis, respiratory illness and other ill effects.This is especially important in a hospice environment that accommodates patients with compromised immune systems due to infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Tuberculosis (TB) is an archetypal example of a disease that is transmitted by airborne route.Primary pulmonary TB is caused by the inhalation of droplet nuclei carrying the causative agent, Mycobacterium nuclei (MTB).For hardy bacteria such as mycobacterium TB, only a single organism is needed to cause disease (Haas, 2006).TB acts synergistically with HIV and increases the risk of primary TB infection developing into the active disease by a hundred fold (Davies, 1999).The world-wide occurrence of TB is high, with approximately one third of the world's population thought to be infected with MTB (Miller, 1996).Globally, TB is estimated to cause the deaths of three million people annually, and this figure is predicted to rise to five million by the year 2050 (Davies, 1999).Nosocomial infections similar to TB are a very real problem in healthcare facilities, with approximately one in 10 patients acquiring an infection during a hospital stay (Schulgen, et al., 2000).Although most nosocomial infections are generally associated with person-to-person contact, evidence is mounting that they are mostly transmitted via aerosol route.Unlike formal healthcare facilities that generally boast air filtration systems, informal healthcare www.intechopen.com