| Infection/Condition | Precautions | Comments |
|---|
| Abscess | | |
| Draining/major | Contact | |
| Draining/minor | Standard | |
| Acquired immune deficiency virus (HIV) | Standard | Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) for some exposures |
| Avian influenza | Droplet | Enhanced precautions (i.e., airborne may be recommended) |
| Bronchiolitis | Contact | |
| Clostridium | | |
| botulinum | Standard | Not transmitted person to person |
| difficile | Contact | |
| perfringens | Standard | Not transmitted person to person |
| Conjunctivitis | | |
| Bacterial | Standard | |
| Viral | Contact | Most commonly: adenovirus, enterovirus, coxsackievirus A24 |
| Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease | Standard | Single-use equipment preferred, special cleaning (NaOH, heat, and time requirements) for contaminated instruments and environment |
| Diphtheria, pharyngeal | Droplet | Until two cultures >24 h apart are negative |
| Escherichia coli | Standard | Contact precautions if patient incontinent |
| Haemophilus influenzae | | |
| Seasonal | Droplet | Single-patient room or cohort, gown, and glove |
| Pandemic | Droplet | Enhanced precautions (airborne may be recommended) |
| Hepatitis, viral | | |
| A | Standard | Contact precautions for incontinent patients |
| B | Standard | |
| C | Standard | |
| E | Standard | Contact precautions for incontinent patients |
| Herpes, zoster (varicella-zoster) | | |
| Disseminated | Airborne, contact | Health-Care workers (HCWs) without immunity should not care for patient if immune HCW available. |
| Localized | Standard | |
| Impetigo | Contact | |
| Legionnaires' disease | Standard | Not transmitted person to person |
| Lice | | |
| Head | Contact | |
| Body | Standard | |
| Pubic | Standard | |
| Lyme disease | Standard | |
| Malaria | Standard | |
| Measles | Airborne | Susceptible HCW should not care for patient if immune HCW available. Maintain precautions for 4 days after onset of rash. Nonimmune exposed individuals may be infectious from days 5 to 21 after exposure. PEP available (vaccine, immune globulin). |
| Meningitis | | |
| Bacterial | Standard | |
| Fungal | Standard | |
| Neisseria | Droplet | |
| Streptococcus | Standard | PEP available |
| Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs: MRSA, VRE, VISA/VRSA, ESBLs, resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae) | Standard/contact | |
| Mumps | Droplet | Susceptible HCWs should not care for patient if immune HCW available. |
| Mycoplasma | Droplet | |
| Mycobacterium tuberculosis | Airborne | |
| Parainfluenza | Contact | |
| Pertussis | Droplet | Single-patient room or cohort. PEP available. Tdap recommended |
| Poliomyelitis | Contact | |
| Rabies | Standard | |
| Respiratory syncytial virus | Contact | Standard mask should be worn. |
| Rhinovirus | Droplet | |
| Rubella | Droplet | Susceptible HCW should not care for patient if immune HCW available. Vaccine available. Nonimmune exposed individuals may be contagious from days 5–21 after exposure. |
| Salmonella | Standard | Contact precautions for incontinent patients |
| SARS-CoV | Airborne, droplet, contact | Maintain precautions until 10 days after resolution of fever. |
| Shigella | Standard | Contact precautions for incontinent patients |
| Smallpox | Airborne, contact | Maintain precautions until all scabs have crusted and separated (3–4 wks). Nonvaccinated HCW should not care for patient if immune HCW available |
| Staphylococcal | | |
| Major, wound | Contact | |
| Streptococcal | | |
| Major, wound | Contact, droplet | |