Which infection control category includes scabies, MRSA, herpes, CDiff, RSV, and wound infections?

Which infection control category includes scabies, MRSA, herpes, CDiff, RSV, and wound infections?

• A. Airborne: TB, measles, varicella
• B. Droplet: Influenza, pneumonia, sepsis, bacterial meningitis
• C. Contact: Scabies, MRSA, herpes, CDiff, RSV, wound infections
• D. Must have negative air flow with N95 mask

Answer: (C)

Understanding how infection control categories map to how infections spread is key here. The organisms listed—scabies, MRSA, herpes, C. difficile, RSV, and wound infections—are transmitted primarily by direct contact or contact with contaminated surfaces. Scabies and MRSA spread through skin-to-skin contact or touching contaminated items; herpes is commonly transmitted by contact with lesions or secretions; C. difficile spreads via spores on surfaces that people touch; RSV is spread through contact with respiratory secretions and contaminated objects; wound infections spread through contact with infected wounds or contaminated dressings. Because the main risk is coming into contact with an infectious source or contaminated environment, implementing gloves, gowns, and strict hand hygiene, along with cleaning of surfaces, best fits this group. Airborne precautions, by contrast, are for tiny particles that stay suspended in the air and require special rooms with negative pressure and respirators. Droplet precautions cover larger respiratory droplets that travel a short distance and typically involve masks. The listed organisms do not require those air-based measures as their primary transmission route is contact, not airborne or droplet spread.

Understanding how infection control categories map to how infections spread is key here. The organisms listed—scabies, MRSA, herpes, C. difficile, RSV, and wound infections—are transmitted primarily by direct contact or contact with contaminated surfaces. Scabies and MRSA spread through skin-to-skin contact or touching contaminated items; herpes is commonly transmitted by contact with lesions or secretions; C. difficile spreads via spores on surfaces that people touch; RSV is spread through contact with respiratory secretions and contaminated objects; wound infections spread through contact with infected wounds or contaminated dressings. Because the main risk is coming into contact with an infectious source or contaminated environment, implementing gloves, gowns, and strict hand hygiene, along with cleaning of surfaces, best fits this group.

Airborne precautions, by contrast, are for tiny particles that stay suspended in the air and require special rooms with negative pressure and respirators. Droplet precautions cover larger respiratory droplets that travel a short distance and typically involve masks. The listed organisms do not require those air-based measures as their primary transmission route is contact, not airborne or droplet spread.