Isolation precautions
Contact Precautions
Contact Precautions are added to Standard Precautions for patients known or suspected to have infections spread by direct or indirect contact with the patient or their environment — for example MRSA and other multidrug-resistant organisms, C. difficile, norovirus, scabies, and RSV in infants and young children.
PPE
- Put on gloves and a gown when you enter the room or cubicle.
- Wear them for any contact with the patient or potentially contaminated surfaces and equipment near the patient.
- Remove the gown and gloves and perform hand hygiene before leaving the room.
Room placement
- A single-patient room is preferred.
- When single rooms are short, prioritize patients with conditions that make transmission more likely, such as uncontained drainage or stool incontinence.
- Patients with the same infection can be cohorted.
- If a patient must share a room with someone who does not have the same infection, keep them more than 3 feet apart, draw the privacy curtain, and change PPE and perform hand hygiene between patients.
Transport
- Limit transport and movement outside the room to medically necessary purposes.
- Make sure infected or colonized areas of the patient’s body are contained and covered.
- Remove contaminated PPE and perform hand hygiene before transport; put on clean PPE to handle the patient at the destination.
Equipment and environment
- Use disposable or dedicated noncritical equipment, such as blood pressure cuffs. If equipment must be shared, clean and disinfect it before the next patient.
- Prioritize cleaning and disinfection of Contact Precautions rooms, focusing on frequently touched surfaces and equipment close to the patient.
Conditions that need Contact Precautions
All 42 entries in CDC’s Appendix A that include Contact Precautions, with CDC’s duration.
Abscess — Draining, major
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Bronchiolitis
ContactStandardRSV guideDurationDuration of illness
Clostridium difficile
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Congenital rubella
ContactStandardDurationUntil 1 yr of age
Conjunctivitis — Acute viral (acute hemorrhagic)
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Diphtheria — Cutaneous
ContactStandardDurationUntil off antimicrobial treatment and culture-negative
Furunculosis, staphylococcal — Infants and young children
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness (with wound lesions, until wounds stop draining)
Gastroenteritis — C. difficile
ContactStandardC. diff guideDurationDuration of illness
Gastroenteritis — Noroviruses
ContactStandardNorovirus guideDuration—
Gastroenteritis — Rotavirus
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Hepatitis, viral — Type A-Diapered or incontinent patients
ContactStandardHepatitis A guideDuration—
Herpes simplex (Herpesvirus hominis) — Mucocutaneous, disseminated or primary, severe
ContactStandardDurationUntil lesions dry and crusted
Herpes simplex (Herpesvirus hominis) — Neonatal
ContactStandardDurationUntil lesions dry and crusted
Herpes zoster (varicella-zoster) (shingles) — Disseminated disease in any patient — Localized disease in immunocompromised patient until disseminated infection ruled out
AirborneContactStandardShingles guideDurationDuration of illness
Human metapneumovirus
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Impetigo
ContactStandardDurationUntil 24 hours after initiation of effective therapy
Lice — Head (pediculosis)
ContactStandardScabies guideDurationUntil 24 hours after initiation of effective therapy
Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), infection or colonization (e.g., MRSA, VRE, VISA/VRSA, ESBLs, resistant S. pneumoniae)
ContactStandardMRSA guideDuration—
Parainfluenza virus infection, respiratory in infants and young children
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Pediculosis (lice)
ContactStandardDurationUntil 24 hours after initiation of effective therapy after treatment
Pneumonia — Adenovirus
DropletContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Pneumonia — B. cepacia in patients with CF, including respiratory tract colonization
ContactStandardDurationUnknown
Poliomyelitis
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Pressure ulcer (decubitus ulcer, pressure sore) infected — Major
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Respiratory infectious disease, acute (if not covered elsewhere) — Infants and young children
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Respiratory syncytial virus infection, in infants, young children and immunocompromised adults
ContactStandardRSV guideDurationDuration of illness
Scabies
ContactStandardScabies guideDurationUntil 24 hours after initiation of effective therapy
Scalded skin syndrome, staphylococcal
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
AirborneDropletContactStandardDurationDuration of illness plus 10 days after resolution of fever, provided respiratory symptoms are absent or improving
Smallpox (variola; see Vaccinia for management of vaccinated persons)
AirborneContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Staphylococcal disease (S. aureus) — Skin, wound, or burn — Major
ContactStandardMRSA guideDurationDuration of illness
Staphylococcal disease (S. aureus) — Scalded skin syndrome
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Streptococcal disease (group A Streptococcus) — Skin, wound, or burn — Major
DropletContactStandardDurationUntil 24 hours after initiation of effective therapy
Tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) — Extrapulmonary, draining lesion
AirborneContactStandardTB guideDuration—
Vaccinia (adverse events following vaccination) — Eczema vaccinatum
ContactStandardDurationUntil lesions dry and crusted, scabs separated
Vaccinia (adverse events following vaccination) — Fetal vaccinia
ContactStandardDurationUntil lesions dry and crusted, scabs separated
Vaccinia (adverse events following vaccination) — Generalized vaccinia
ContactStandardDurationUntil lesions dry and crusted, scabs separated
Vaccinia (adverse events following vaccination) — Progressive vaccinia
ContactStandardDurationUntil lesions dry and crusted, scabs separated
Vaccinia (adverse events following vaccination) — Blepharitis or conjunctivitis
ContactStandardDuration—
Vaccinia (adverse events following vaccination) — Secondary bacterial infection (e.g., S. aureus, group A beta hemolytic Streptococcus)
ContactStandardDuration—
Varicella Zoster
AirborneContactStandardChickenpox guideDurationUntil lesions dry and crusted
Wound infections — Major
ContactStandardDurationDuration of illness
Test yourself: a CIC-style question
Which precaution category requires placing the patient in a single room and wearing gloves and a gown upon room entry?
- Airborne Precautions
- Droplet Precautions
- Contact Precautions
- Standard Precautions
Show answer
C. Contact Precautions
Contact Precautions call for a single room (or cohorting), gloves and a gown on entry, and dedicated equipment. They are used for organisms spread by direct or indirect contact, such as MDROs, C. difficile and scabies.
Questions like this come up in the Preventing and Controlling the Transmission of Infectious Agents domain of the CIC® exam. The 654 questions in the app each come with a written explanation.
FAQ
- What PPE is required for Contact Precautions?
- A gown and gloves, put on when entering the room and removed before leaving, followed by hand hygiene. A mask or eye protection is added only if Standard Precautions call for it (for example, splash risk).
- What is the difference between Contact and Droplet Precautions?
- Contact Precautions (gown and gloves) target organisms spread by touching the patient or their surroundings. Droplet Precautions (a facemask on entry) target pathogens spread by respiratory droplets over short distances. Some conditions, such as adenovirus pneumonia, need both.
Sources
- CDC. 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Summary of Recommendations
- CDC. Appendix A: Type and Duration of Precautions Recommended for Selected Infections and Conditions (2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions, updated September 2024)
Checked against CDC on October 21, 2026. For education and CIC® exam preparation only — not a substitute for your facility’s infection prevention policies, your state or local health department, or clinical judgment. CBIC and CDC do not endorse this tool.