Infection control precautions by disease

Disease or syndrome	Type of precautions	Duration	Notes
Abscess (with significant drainage)	Contact	Until drainage controlled
Abscess (no significant drainage)	Routine
Actinomycosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Adenovirus	Refer to specific syndrome (e.g. gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, or pneumonia)
Amoebiasis	Routine		Rarely transmitted person-to-person
Anthrax	Routine
Anthrax (cutaneous)	Routine		Contact precautions if significant drainage
Anthrax (pulmonary)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Arthropod-borne viral encephalitis (e.g. (eastern equine encephlitis, western equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, California encephalitis, West Nile virus)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Arthropod-borne viral fever (e.g. dengue, yellow fever, Colorado tick fever)	Routine
Ascariasis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Aspergillosis	Routine		Can consider contact or airborne if large draining infection requiring repeat irrigations
Babesiosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Blastomycosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Botulism	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Botulism (food poisoning)	Routine
Bronchiolitis	Contact	Duration of illness
Brucellosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Campylobacter species (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Candidiasis	Routine
Cat-scratch fever	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Cellulitis	Routine
Chancroid	Routine		Sexually transmitted
Chickenpox			Refer to Varicella
Chlamydia trachomatis (conjunctivitis)	Routine
Chlamydia trachomatis (lymphogranuloma venereum)	Routine
Chlamydia trachomatic (infant pneumonia)	Routine
Chlamydia pneumoniae	Routine
Cholera	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Clostridium botulinum	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Clostridium difficile	Contact	Duration of illness
Clostridium perfringens (food poisoning)	Routine
Clostridium perfringens (gas gangrene)	Routine		Rarely transmitted person-to-person
Coccidioidomycosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Colorado tick fever	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Congenital rubella	Contact	Until 1 year of age	Routine precautions if nasopharyngeal and urine cultures are repeatedly negative after 3 months of age
Conjunctivitis (bacterial)	Routine
Conjuctivitis (viral)	Contact	Duration of illness	Highly contageous
Coxsackie virus			Refer to Enteroviral infection
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease	Routine
Croup			Refer to Respiratory infections in infants and young children
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever			Refer to Viral hemorrhagic fever
Cryptococcosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Cryptosporidiosis	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Cysticercosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Cytomegalovirus	Routine
Dengue	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Diphtheria (cutaneous)	Contact	Until completed treatment and cultures negative	Two cultures 24 hours apart
Diphtheria (pharyngeal)	Droplet	Until completed treatment and cultures negative	Two cultures 24 hours apart
Ebola	Refer to Viral hemorrhagic fever
Echinococcosis	Routine
Echovirus	Refer to Enteroviral infection
Encephalitis or encephalomyelitis	Refer to specific organism
Endometritis	Routine
Enterobiasis (pinworm)	Routine
Enterovirus (continent)	Routine
Enterovirus (diapered or incontinent)	Contact	Duration of illness
Epiglottitis from Haemophilus influenzae type b	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Epstein-Barr virus, including infectious mononucleosis	Routine
Escherichia coli (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Food poisoning (botulism, clostridial, staphylococcal)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Gangrene	Routine
Gastroenteritis (continent)	Routine
Gastroenteritis (incontinent or diapered)	Contact	Duration of illness
Gastroenteritis (norovirus)	Contact	48 hours after resolution of symptoms
Gastroenteritis (rotavirus)	Contact	Duration of illness
Giardia lamblia (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum	Routine
Gonorrhea	Routine
Granuloma inguinale	Routine
Guillain-Barré syndrome	Routine		Not an infectious disease
Haemophilus influenzae	Refer to disease-specific recommendations
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Helicobacter pylori	Routine
Hepatitis A virus	Routine		Consider vaccination as post-exposure prophylaxis
Hepatitis A virus (incontinent or diapered)	Contact	<3 years: duration of hospitalization; 3-14 years: 2 weeks after onset; >14 years: 1 week after onset
Hepatitis B virus	Routine
Hepatitis C virus	Routine
Hepatitis D virus	Routine
Hepatitis E virus	Routine
[[Hepatitis E virus (incontinent or diapered)	Contact	Duration of illness
Hepatitis G virus	Routine
Hookworm	Routine
Herpes simplex virus (encephalitis)	Routine
Herpes simplex virus (disseminated, primary, or severe)	Contact	Until lesions dry and crusted
Herpes simplex virus (mucocutaneous recurrent)	Routine
Herpes simplex virus (neonatal)	Contact	Until lesions dry and crsted
Herpes zoster virus (disseminated or immunocompromised)	Airborne + Contact	Duration of illness
Herpes zoster virus (localized in immunocompetent)	Routine
Histoplasmosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
HIV	Routine		Sexually transmitted
Human metapneumovirus	Contact	Duration of illness
Impetigo	Contact	24 hours of effective therapy
[[Infectious mononucleosis	Routine
Influenza (seasonal)	Droplet	7 days after onset or 24 hours asymptomatic (whichever longer)
Influenza (avian)
Influenza (pandemic)	Droplet
Kawasaki syndrome	Routine		Not infectious
Lassa fever	Refer to Viral hemorrhagic fever
Lesionellosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Leprosy	Routine
Leptospirosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Lice (head)	Contact	Until 24 hours of effective therapy
Lice (body)	Routine		Transmitted through clothing, so consider Contact precautions when undressing patient
Lice (pubic)	Routine		Sexually transmitted
Listeriosis	Routine
Lyme disease	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Lymphogranuloma venereum	Routine
Malaria	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Marburg virus	Refer to Viral hemorrhagic fever
Measles	Airborne	4 days after onset of rash
Measles (immunocompromised)	Airborne	Duration of illness
Melioidosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Meningitis (aseptic)	Routine		Contact for infants and young children
Meningitis (Gram-negative bacterial)	Routine
Meningitis (fungal)	Routine
Meningitis (Haemophilus influenzae type b)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Meningitis (Listeria monocytogenes)	Routine
Meningitis (Neisseria meningitidis)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Meningitis (Streptococcus pneumoniae)	Routine
Meningitis (Tuberculosis)	Routine		Rule out pulmonary disease and draining adenitis
Meningitis (other bacteria)	Routine
Molluscum contagiosum	Routine
Monkeypox	Airborne + Contact	Airborne until smallpox ruled out; contact until lesions crusted
Mucormycosis	Routine
Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) (e.g. MRSA, VRE, ESBL)	Contact		Based on local guidelines
Mumps	Droplet	5 days after onset of swelling
Mycoplasma (pneumonia)	Droplet	Duration of illness
Necrotizing enterocolitis	Routine
Neisseria meningitis (sepsis, pneumonia, or meningitis)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy	Contacts may need post-exposure prophylaxis
Nocardiosis	Routine		Not transmitted human-to-human
Non-tuberculous mycobacteria	Routine
Norovirus (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Orf	Routine
Parainfluenza (respiratory in infants and young children)	Contact	Duration of illness	Prolonged shedding in immunocompromised
Parvovirus B19 (immunocompromised)	Droplet	Duration of hospitalization
Parvovirus B19 (transient aplastic crisis)	Droplet	7 days
Pertussis	Droplet	5 days of effective therapy	Single-patient room preferred; contacts may need post-exposure prophylaxis
Pinworm	Routine
Pneumonia (adenovirus	Droplet + Contact	Duration of illness
Pneumonia (bacterial, not otherwise specified)	Routine
Pneumonia (Chlamydia)	Routine
Pneumonia (fungal)	Routine
Pneumonia (H. influenzae type b in adults)	Routine
Pneumonia (H. influenzae type b in infants and children)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Pneumonia (Legionella)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Pneumonia (Neisseria meningitidis)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Pneumonia (Mycoplasma)	Droplet	Duration of illness
Pneumonia (Streptococcus pneumoniae)	Routine		Droplet precautions if nosocomial outbreak
Pneumonia (Pneumocystis jiroveci)	Routine
Pneumonia (Staphylococcus aureus)	Routine
Pneumonia (Group A Streptococcus in infants and young children)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Pneumonia (viral in adults)	Routine
Pneumonia (viral in infants and children)	Contact	Duration of illness
Poliomyelitis	Contact	Duration of illness
Pressure ulcer	Routine		Contact precautions if draining
Prion disease	Routine
Psittacosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Q fever	Routine
Rabies	Routine		Very rare person-to-person transmission
Rat-bite fever (Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Relapsing fever	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Respiratory infections (adults, not otherwise specified)	Routine
Respiratory infection (infants and children, not otherwise specified)	Contact	Duration of illness
Respiratory infection (adults, not otherwise specified)	Routine
Respiratory syncytial virus (infants, young children, and immunocompromised)	Contact	Duration of illness	Immunocompromised patients may have prolonged shedding
Reye syndrome	Routine		Not an infectious disease
Rheumatic fever	Routine
Rhinovirus	Droplet	Duration of illness
Ricketssioses	Routine		Not transmitted human-to-human
Ricketsialpox (vesicular)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Ringworm	Routine
Rocky Mountain spotted fever	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Roseola infantum	Routine
Rotavirus (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis (rotavirus)
Rubella	Droplet	7 days after rash onset
Salmonellosis (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Scabies	Contact	24 hours of effective therapy
SARS coronavirus	Airborne + Droplet + Contact	10 days after symptoms resolve
Schistosomiasis	Routine
Shigella species (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Smallpox	Airborne + Contact	Until all scabs have crusted and separated
Sporotrichosis	Routine
Staphylococcus aureus (food poisoning)	Routine
Staphylococcus aureus (furunculosis)	Routine		Consider Contact precautions if uncontrolled drainage
Staphylococcus aureus (furunculosis in infants and young children)	Contact	Until no longer draining
Staphylococcus aureus (pneumonia)	Routine
Staphylococcus aureus (scalded skin syndrome)	Contact	Duration of illness
Staphylcoccus aureus (major soft tissue, wound, or burn)	Contact	Until drainage stops or is controlled
Staphylococcus aureus (toxic shock syndrome)	Routine
Streptococcus pyogenes (severe soft tissue)	Droplet + Contact	24 hours of effective therapy and drainage contained
Streptococcus pyogenes (minor soft tissue)	Routine		If drainage controlled
Streptococcus pyogenes (endometritis)	Routine
Streptococcus pyogenes (pharyngitis in infants and young children)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Streptococcus pyogenes (pneumonia)	Droplet	24 hours of appropriate therapy
Streptococcus pyogenes (scarlet fever)	Droplet	24 hours of appropriate therapy
Streptococcus pyogenes (invasive disease)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Group B Streptococcus (neonatal)	Routine
Strongyloidiasis	Routine
Syphilis	Routine
Tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Tapeworm (Taenia solium)	Routine
Tapeworm (Other)	Routine
Tetanus	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Tinea	Routine		Rarely transmitted person-to-person
Toxoplasmosis	Routine		Generally not transmitted person-to-person
Toxic shock syndrome (staphylococcal)	Routine
Toxic shock syndrome (streptococcal)	Droplet	24 hours of effective therapy
Trachoma	Routine
Trench mouth	Routine
Trichinosis	Routine
Trichomoniasis	Routine
Trichuriasis (whipworm)	Routine
Tuberculosis (draining lesion)	Airborne + Contact	Until clinically improving and 3 negative cultures	Rule out pulmonary disease
Tuberculosis (meningitis)	Routine		Rule out pulmonary disease and draining lesions
Tuberculosis (pulmonary or laryngeal)	Airborne
Tuberculosis (latent)	Routine
Tularemia (draining lesion)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Tularemia (pulmonary)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Typhoid fever (Salmonella typhi)	Refer to Gastroenterisi
Typhus (epidemic/louse-borne)	Routine
Typhus (murine/flea-borne)	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person
Urinary tract infection including pyelonephritis	Routine
Vaccinia (vaccination site care)	Routine		Vaccinate healthcare workers
Vaccinia (eczema vaccinatum)	Contact	Until lesions are dry and crusted, and scabs separated
Vaccinia (fetal vaccinia)	Contact	Until lesions are dry and crusted, and scabs separated
Vaccinia (generalized vaccinia)	Contact	Until lesions are dry and crusted, and scabs separated
Vaccinia (progressive vaccinia)	Contact	Until lesions are dry and crusted, and scabs separated
Vaccinia (postvaccinia encephalitis)	Routine
Vaccinia (blepharitis or conjunctivitis)	Contact	Until drainage stops
Vaccinia (iritis or keratitis)	Routine
Vaccinia (erythema multiforme or SJS)	Routine		Not infectious
Varicella zoster	Airborne + Contact	Until lesions dry and crusted
Varicella zoster (pneumonia in immunocompromised)	Airborne + Contact	Duration of illness
Vibrio cholerae (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Vibrio parahaemolyticus (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Vibrio vulnificans (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Vincent angina	Routine
Viral hemorrhagic fever	Droplet + Contact	Duration of illness
Yersinia enterocolitica (gastroenteritis)	Refer to Gastroenteritis
Yersinia pestis (bubonic plague)	Routine
Yersinia pestis (pneumonic plague)	Droplet	48 hours of effective therapy	Consider prophylaxis in healthcare workers
Zygomycosis	Routine		Not transmitted person-to-person

Further Reading

• CDC infection control guidelines