Infection Prevention and Control Policy*^† 

The health and well-being of people with CF is our topmost concern — it is at the heart of all we do. The CF Foundation’s Infection Prevention and Control Policy is focused on the maintenance of the health and safety of people with CF at any CF Foundation event, meeting or office.

We have long had infection control guidelines in place to promote safety in all settings where people with CF gather. With this new policy, we are proactively pursuing every available measure to limit the risk of cross-infection between people with CF.

Medical evidence shows that all people with CF could have germs that might be spread to others with CF in their lungs and sinuses. The activities listed below must be followed to reduce the risk of cross infection.

• Only one person with CF may be present at a CF Foundation-sponsored indoor event, meeting or office.^†
  
  
• At CF Foundation-sponsored outdoor events or gatherings, people with CF need to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from each other.^†
  
  
• Under no circumstances shall individuals who have ever had a confirmed positive sputum culture for Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia) complex attend any CF Foundation events, meetings or offices.*
  
  
• Everyone (people with CF and those who do not have CF) should clean their hands using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand gel that is at least 60% alcohol. If hands are visibly dirty, use soap and water. Hands should be cleaned after coughing, sneezing or blowing the nose, before eating, after going to the bathroom, etc.*
  
  
• Everyone should cough/sneeze into a tissue, immediately discard it in a no-touch trash/waste receptacle and immediately clean their hands.*
  
  
• All people with CF should avoid the following activities and risk factors with others with CF because of the risk of transmission of CF germs in non-health care settings. These include, but are not limited to:
  
  
  • Shaking hands, hugging or physical contact
  • Kissing or intimate contact
  • Riding in the same vehicle or sharing a hotel room
  • Fitness/exercise class at the same time
  • Sharing personal items, drinking cups, utensils or respiratory equipment*
    
    
• Information about whether a person has CF, or what germs might be in the individual’s lungs, is to be maintained as confidential medical information unless the family chooses to make this information known.*
  
  
• The CF community should have education regarding infection prevention and control for CF. Materials are available on the CF Foundation’s website and through CF Foundation-accredited care centers.*

* “Infection Control Recommendations for Patients with Cystic Fibrosis: Microbiology, Important Pathogens, and Infection Control Practices to Prevent Patient-to-Patient Transmission,” Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 2003;24:S6-S52.

† Personal conversations at the CF Foundation’s Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines committee, January 2013.

Updated 03/29/13