CDC Issues Guideline on Norovirus Prevention in Health Care Settings - May 17, 2011
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its Guideline for the Prevention and Control of Norovirus Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Healthcare Settings. The guideline was drafted by the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) in response to the increase in cases of norovirus gastroenteritis in health care settings in recent years. The CDC provides recommendations in a number of categories, including:
- Patient cohorting and isolation procedures
- Hand hygiene
- Patient transfer and ward closure
- Food handling
- Diagnostics
- Protective equipment
- Cleaning
- Staff leave
- Visitors
- Education
- Case-finding, and
- Communication and notification.
A
web-based version of the guideline, which also includes links to other HICPAC guidelines on disease prevention in health care settings, is available.