Bird Flu Infection Control

Caring for a Bird Flu Patient

When caring for someone infected with the bird flu virus, try to follow these infection control practices, which will help protect you from bird flu infection.

Always wear a well-fitting respirator (mask) and an apron or gown, and disposable gloves. This will protect your clothing and body from contamination with body fluids that may contain the virus, and any virus that is airborne due to coughing and sneezing.

Wash your hands well before putting on your protective clothing. Click here for a reliable handwashing routine.

Have the sick person wear a bird flu mask or respirator while you are in the room, to reduce the chance of spreading the bird flu virus.

Keep the dishes that the sick person uses separate, and wash them in a special plastic basin, with hot water and detergent. Keep all items that the person uses in the room until the person recovers.

Keep the sickroom clean, wiping surfaces with warm water and detergent, followed by a wash with a disinfectant solution that will deactivate the bird flu virus.

Clothing, bed linen, and towels contaminated with body substances that contain the bird flu virus should be removed, put into a container especially for contaminated laundry, and washed as soon as possible. Click here for information on management of bird flu contaminated laundry.

Remove your protective clothing outside the door of the sickroom, as soon as contact with the sick person is at an end. Remove your gloves carefully, pulling them down from the wrist, so that they are turned inside out and discard them immediately. Wash your hands thoroughly afterward.

Place your disposable mask and gloves in a special container for contaminated waste, and be sure to empty the container in an area away from animals and humans, to prevent further spread of bird flu infection.