Isolation & Quarantine Measures in Response to a Smallpox Emergency

Standard Precautions

Standard precautions make up the major features of Universal Precautions (Blood and Body Fluid Precautions – designed to reduce the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens, and BSI – designed to reduce the risk of transmission of pathogens from moist body substances. These standard or “constant” precautions should be applied to all patients receiving care in hospitals, regardless of their diagnosis or presumed infection status. Standard Precautions utilize gloves and handwashing following any contact with:

  1. Blood
  2. All body fluids, secretions, and excretions except sweat, regardless of whether or not they contain visible blood
  3. Non-intact skin
  4. Mucous membranes

Additional protection should be utilized if splashes of body fluids are anticipated.
Standard Precautions are designed to reduce the risk of transmission of microorganisms from both recognized and unrecognized sources of infection in hospitals. Standard Precautions (gloves, handwashing, splash precautions) serve to prevent direct contact during patient care and provides protection against other blood-borne agents that may also be present (e.g. HIV, hepatitis,etc.).  

    Top of Page