Airborne Precautions to prevent hospital acquired infections

These precautions are designed to reduce the nosocomial transmission of 5 µm particles or less that can remain in the air for several hours and be widely dispersed (Table 4). Microorganisms spread wholly or partly by the airborne route e.g. tuberculosis, chicken pox, measles.

Droplet Precautions
These precautions reduce the risks for nosocomial transmission of pathogens spread wholly or partly by droplets larger than 5 µm e.g. Influenza, Mumps and Rubella viruses (Table 5). The droplets remain in the air only for a short time and travel only a few feet; therefore, contact with the source must be close for a susceptible host to become infected.