Final answer:
Hospitals use Standard Precautions to prevent disease transmission, which aligns with the various biological safety levels (BSLs) that guide laboratory practices to prevent microbial contamination and spread (a). Disinfection and antisepsis are critical in maintaining these precautions in healthcare and laboratory environments.
Step-by-step explanation:
Hospitals now use Standard Precautions, which are a combination of Universal Precautions and Body Substance Isolation (BSI) guidelines. These precautions are a set of infection control practices used to prevent transmission of diseases that can be acquired by contact with blood, body fluids, non-intact skin, and mucous membranes. These guidelines are in line with biosafety practices required in different settings, including hospital environments and laboratory settings.
In a laboratory setting, different biological safety levels (BSLs) are established based on the agent's infectivity, ease of transmission, potential disease severity, and the type of work being performed. These levels range from BSL-1, for agents not known to consistently cause diseases in healthy adults, to BSL-4, for agents that pose a high risk of life-threatening disease. BSLs are essential in preventing contamination and spread of infectious agents to laboratory personnel and the community. Disinfection and antisepsis are important components of preventing healthcare-associated infections, which can be introduced via contaminated medical equipment or procedures.