The guidance and its recommendations are based on the CDC’s “Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings,” and have been slightly modified to address the current MERS outbreak.
The recommendations are based on several MERS-specific considerations, including the suspected high morbidity and mortality rate, evidence of limited human-to-human transmission, poorly characterized clinical signs and symptoms, unknown modes of pathogen transmission and the lack of a vaccine or chemoprophylaxis.
Such recommendations include transferring patients as quickly as possible to an airborne infection isolation room, reducing the use of aerosol-generating procedures on MERS patients, limiting the number of healthcare personnel present during procedures on MERS patients, wearing full protective equipment and clothing, adhering to hand hygiene policies and establishing procedures for monitoring, managing and training visitors. The recommendations also include steps to take if a healthcare provider potentially comes into contact with the pathogen.
To read the full guidance on MERS protection, please click here.
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