Infection prevention and control during health care when novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection is suspected - Interim guidance (January 2020)

Introduction

This is the first edition of infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance when a novel coronavirus (nCoV) is suspected. It has been adapted from WHO’s IPC recommendations for MERS-CoV (Infection prevention and control during health care for probable or confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus [MERS-CoV] infection, interim guidance October 2019,
WHO/MERS/IPC/15.1 Rev 11 ), based on our current knowledge of the situation in Wuhan, China and experiences with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV2 .
WHO will update these recommendations as new information becomes available on the situation in Wuhan, China.
This guidance is intended for health-care workers (HCWs), health-care managers, and IPC teams. Full guidelines are available at Infection prevention and control of epidemic- and pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections in health care2 .

Principles of infection prevention and control strategies associated with health care with suspected nCoV

IPC strategies to prevent or limit infection transmission in health-care settings include the following:

1. Early recognition and source control
2. Application of Standard Precautions for all patients
3. Implementation of empiric additional precautions (droplet and contact and whenever applicable airborne precautions) for suspected cases
4. Administrative controls
5. Environmental and engineering controls