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If the patient is intubated, call respiratory therapist ahead of time to ensure that the transport is done according to respiratory guidelines.Finally, the transport personnel should wear an N95 respirator depending on their immune status. Patient and Family Education Education of the patient and or family is necessary to ensure that they adhere to the preventive guidelines.The patient and family should be educated on coughing etiquette to ensure the minimum spread of the aerosolized particles.Tissue should be placed over the nose and mouth, which should be disposed of in the appropriate waste container.This should be followed by appropriate hand hygiene. Patient Visitors A sign should be placed outside the door recommending infectious precautions.All visitor must adhere to the precautions as stated on the front door.The nurse must assess the health risk of each visitor before they enter the room.The nurse must instruct all visitors to wash hands.The patient, family and all visitors must be educated on washing hands and contact precautions.The number of visitors should be limited.All visitors should be educated about the potential risk of acquiring an infection and should be asked to wear an N95 respirator.Young children, elderly and others who are ill from chronic illness should be told not to enter the room.Duration of Precautions In general, airborne precautions can be discontinued once the patient shows no signs or symptoms of an infection.[16][18][19][8] However, one also has to be aware of the period of incubation and if unsure, always consult with an infectious disease expert Anthrax: Individuals exposed to aerosolized B anthracis spores must at least 8 weeks of antimicrobial therapy. This is a serious infection with very high mortality if the diagnosis is missed. An infectious disease consult should be involved in the management of patients with anthrax. The patient usually remains infectious while symptoms remain. In any case, because this is a potential agent for terrorism, it is important to seek advice from the CDC. Patient isolation is mandatory, and all traffic must be curtailed.Chickenpox: Most patients remain infectious for 5 to 7 days after the rash develops. By this time most of the vesicles have dried up, and the risk of transmission is low.Influenza: Patients with influenza may remain infectious even before they have symptoms. In most cases, the viral shedding occurs at the time of the symptoms and will continue for 5 to 10 days. Data indicate that younger children and infants may shed the virus for a week or two, thus placing other individuals at risk for acquiring the infection. In patients who are immunocompromised, the shedding may last for 4-12 weeks.Measles (aka rubeola) is the most contagious infectious diseases, with a secondary infection rate in susceptible domestic contacts over 90 percent. The majority of patients remain contagious from 1 to 2 days before the onset of symptoms. Younger patients may remain contagious 4 to 5 days before and after the rash. Immunocompromised individuals remain contagious throughout the duration of the illness.Smallpox is not a concern in many parts of the world, but it is a contagious infection. However, unlike measles, influenza, and pertussis, the transmission rate is low. Once smallpox is acquired, the patient remains contagious from the onset of the fever and rash. The highest viral shedding occurs during the first 2 weeks of the rash. Infection rates of anywhere from 40% to 80% have been reported.Cryptococcosis is being seen more often now because of transplantation. However, in healthy people, the risk of acquiring or developing an infection is very low. However, all immunocompromised individuals remain at high risk for acquiring Cryptococcus. An infectious disease consult is necessary to determine the period of isolation.Tuberculosis is a common disease, but it is not as contagious as measles or influenza. Even when acquired, only 5% of individual will develop clinical disease. The risk of disease transmission is most common in close living quarters. Data reveal that about 20% of household contacts do develop a positive skin test to PPD. Small epidemics have been reported in closed environments like that in an airplane. Populations at high risk for infection include health care workers and nursing home residents. The patient usually remains infectious while symptoms are present, which can be a few weeks.What if there are many infected patients?