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Airborne Precautions

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Follow standard precautions!!!

Protect Against:

  • tuberculosis 

  • chicken pox (varicella) 

  • measles 

Airborne precautions protect against microscopic particles (5 microns or smaller) that can reach deep into the lungs when inhaled. These particles are evaporated droplets that contain infectious agents. Because of their small size, these droplets can remain suspended in the air and be spread widely by air currents.

 

Isolation room ventilation

Contagious individuals should be in a room that is kept under negative pressure. (The air pressure inside the isolation room is less than the air pressure outside the room so the flow of air keeps germs from escaping outside the room.)

  • Rooms should be monitored daily to make sure they stay under negative pressure.

  • he flow of air should be adequate to change the air 6 to 12 times per hour (air exchanges). 

  • Air from the room should be discharged outdoors or pass through high-efficiency filters before the air is circulated to other areas of the building. 

  • The doors should be kept closed except to enter and exit the room.

 

Patient/inmate placement

Place the person in a private room if available. Rooms can be shared if the patients/inmates have the same, but no other active infection. If these options are not possible, contagious individuals should be kept at least 3 feet apart.

 

Respiratory protection

An N95 or more protective respirator must be worn when entering the room. If individuals are in isolation for measles or chicken pox, workers who are immune to these diseases do not need a respirator.

 

Transport

Transporting infectious persons should be limited to essential purposes. The contagious person should wear a surgical mask to prevent the spread of droplet nuclei

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