Chronic Communicable Disease

Chronic Communicable Disease Policy*

Morton College is dedicated to promoting and maintaining a healthy environment for students and employees. Consequently, the College places a high priority on the need to prevent the spread of chronic communicable diseases on campus. Chronic communicable diseases include those diseases and conditions which have been declared by the Center for Disease Control to be contagious, infectious, communicable and dangerous to the public health. The College is committed to educating students, employees and the community at large about chronic communicable diseases.

* Because of possible changes in medical knowledge or legal requirements, the College reserves the right to modify this policy.

Preventative Measures

Laboratories used in a teaching context, such as those required in biology courses, should be safe experiences. Given the fact that the existence and identity of those with some chronic communicable diseases, such as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), AIDS-Related Complex (ARC) or a positive Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) antibody test, may not be known, procedures for the decontamination of environmental surfaces and objects soiled by blood or body fluids will be adopted and implemented. Laboratory courses requiring exposure to blood, such as finger pricks for blood typing or examination, will use disposable equipment. Lancets or other blood- letting devices will not be reused or shared. No student will be required to obtain or process the blood of others in a laboratory used in a teaching context. Students or faculty in allied health programs required to obtain or process the blood of others in a clinical context, and campus personnel who may be exposed to blood or body fluids, such as those giving first aid, will follow the appropriate guidelines established by the Center for Disease Control.