Infection control in cystic fibrosis

Some respiratory pathogens are highly transmissible. Strict infection-control measures are needed to prevent patients with CF being infected with respiratory pathogens, and also to prevent patients with CF from spreading infection to other patients with CF.

Infection-control information for patients with CF, their parents or carers, and health professionals can be found on the Cystic Fibrosis Australia website.

Everyday lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of acquiring and spreading an infection include:

  • good hand hygiene after coughing, sneezing, touching the mouth or nose, and before eating
    • washing hands thoroughly with soap and water, or using alcohol-based hand sanitiser
    • drying hands with paper towel or clean towel
  • sneezing or coughing into elbow, and disposing used tissues immediately
  • avoiding people who are sick, and avoiding other people with CF when sick
  • avoiding close or prolonged contact with other people with CF (maintain distance of at least 4 metres)
  • avoiding sharing personal items (eg utensils, toothbrushes, soap bars, toys, pens, computers, gym equipment)
  • avoiding high-risk environments (eg those with stagnant water mould or damp soil)
  • maintaining current vaccination (eg annual influenza vaccination).

Initial infecting strains of P. aeruginosa are thought to be acquired from the environment. All specialist CF centres in Australia separate patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection from patients without chronic infection, both in outpatient clinics and during hospitalisation. Some P. aeruginosa strains in Australia are highly transmissible, both to other patients with CF and to patients with bronchiectasis; separation of these patients should be considered.

Cross-infection has also been shown to occur for certain strains (or genomovars) of B. cepacia. Single rooms are provided during hospitalisations to separate all patients with CF who have B. cepacia complex infection from all other patients with CF, including other patients with B. cepacia.

Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and Mycobacterium abscessus are highly transmissible and patients with CF in whom these organisms have been isolated should also be included in cross-infection precautions.