CF Care Guidelines - Infection Control

Infections can lead to lung damage in people with CF. To know the best ways to prevent lung infections, the CF Foundation brought together experts in infection control and CF lung disease to develop care guidelines. The guidelines include information on:

• Ways to prevent the spread of infections
  • in clinics
  • in hospitals
  • at home
  • at school
  • CF Foundation events
• How to clean respiratory equipment
• How to avoid infection (i.e., hot tubs, camps, construction sites, etc.)

Care Guidelines

• “Infection Control Recommendations for Patients with Cystic Fibrosis: Microbiology, Important Pathogens, and Infection Control Practices to Prevent Patient-to-Patient Transmission” 
  Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2003;24:S6–S52

Information for People with CF and their Families

• "Germs, Infection Control and People with CF" – a CF Education Web cast
  
  
• "What You Should Know" – a pamphlet in the Staying Healthy section
  
  
• "Stopping the Spread of Germs" - a pamphlet in the Staying Healthy section
  
  
• "Burkholderia cepacia FAQs" – frequently asked questions about B. cepacia, including the CF Foundation’s policy “that individuals with CF who have had a confirmed positive sputum culture for Burkholderia cepacia complex shall not attend CF Foundation events, meetings or offices.”
  
  
• "Influenza" – information about both seasonal and H1N1
  
  
• "MRSA" (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) – frequently asked questions about this germ
  
  
• "Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance in People with Cystic Fibrosis" – information about how bacteria can become resistant to some antibiotics
  

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Updated 02/12/10