Airborne precautions are required to protect against airborne transmission of infectious agents. Diseases requiring airborne precautions include, but are not limited to: Measles, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Varicella (chickenpox), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Reproductive isolation is a mechanism that keeps species from mating with others. Prezygotic isolation prevents the fertilization of eggs while postzygotic isolation prevents the formation of fertile offspring. Postzygotic mechanisms include hybrid inviability, hybrid sterility and hybrid “breakdown.”

Prezygotic barriers: Anything that prevents mating and fertilization is a prezygotic mechanism. Habitat isolation, behavioral isolation, temporal isolation, mechanical isolation and gametic isolation are all examples of prezygotic isolating mechanisms.

temporal isolation

There are three types of transmission-based precautions–contact, droplet, and airborne – the type used depends on the mode of transmission of a specific disease.

The minimum respiratory protection required is an N95 respirator for routine patient care and aerosol-generating procedures in patients with diseases requiring airborne precautions, viral hemorrhagic fever, and possibly for emerging novel pathogens and pandemic influenza.

M. tuberculosis is carried in airborne particles, called droplet nuclei, of 1– 5 microns in diameter. Infectious droplet nuclei are generated when persons who have pulmonary or laryngeal TB disease cough, sneeze, shout, or sing. TB is spread from person to person through the air.

They may also fall on surfaces and then be transferred onto someone’s hand who then rubs their eyes, nose or mouth. Airborne transmission occurs when bacteria or viruses travel in droplet nuclei that become aerosolized. Healthy people can inhale the infectious droplet nuclei into their lungs.

A particulate respirator must be worn by anyone entering the patient’s room that is on airborne precautions. This may be an N95 respirator or powered air purifying respirator or PAPR.

There are three categories of Transmission-Based Precautions: Contact Precautions, Droplet Precautions, and Airborne Precautions.

Keep the germs away:

1. Wash your hands before eating, or touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
2. Wash your hands after touching anyone who is sneezing, coughing or blowing their nose.
3. Don’t share things like towels, lipstick, toys, or anything else that might be contaminated with respiratory germs.

Infectious particles have been detected on both surfaces for up to 72 hours. Because virus numbers can’t increase on surfaces, every hour that passes between the virus landing on a surface and you touching it decreases the chance of you getting sick.

One of the best things you can do to protect yourself during cold and flu season (and really anytime of the year) is to break the transmission cycle by routinely washing your hands. Also remember that any virus you might already have has the potential to spread to others in the same fashion.

Colds, flus and other respiratory illnesses are more common in colder months. People are indoors more often, allowing viruses to pass more easily from one person to another. And the cold, dry air may weaken resistance.

It’s the dryer—not the washing machine—that lays waste to harmful microorganisms. “High heat drying for at least 28 minutes is the most effective way to kill viruses,” Reynolds says. The “high heat” setting is key. Your big worry there is probably foul odors, not viral pathogens.

A half cup of white vinegar can act as a disinfectant and a deodorizer—removing those pesky germs and working to soften your fabrics. Vinegar is also effective at cleaning both whites and colored items, so your clothes will come out bright, soft, and smelling good every time.

The sanitize cycle on your washing machine or dryer works to eliminate 99.9% of three common household bacteria1 by using an extra-hot wash or dry cycle. If your machine doesn’t have a designated cycle, use the warmest temperature setting available to optimize cleaning performance.

Sheets, clothes and towels can pick up bacteria and can spread to other items in your Laundry, even in the machine. Detergent alone does not always kill bacteria. To kill bacteria, use Lysol Laundry Sanitizer in the fabric softener compartment or pour directly into the rinse cycle.

To kill the germs in your laundry, wash your clothes on the hot cycle, then put everything in the dryer for 45 minutes. Wash whites with bleach, and use peroxide or color-safe bleach for colors. Do your laundry in water that’s at least 140 F to kill any viruses or bacteria.

Some services prefer using cold water with dissolved ozone concentrations than hot water with chlorine during the process. In most cases, textiles such as surgical drapes and reusable gowns usually need to be sanitized before use. Sanitized benefits from a standard definition of pathogen kill.

Lysol Laundry Sanitizer It’s an additive that’s specially formulated to kill germs on your clothes and in your laundry machine. After adding a capful of regular laundry detergent, I add two capfuls of the Lysol Laundry Sanitizer into the fabric softener compartment.