What it means
One link in the chain of infection. The main modes are contact, either direct (touching) or indirect (through objects and hands); droplets; airborne particles; vehicles such as food, water or blood; and vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks. Transmission-based precautions are chosen by the germ's mode of transmission.
For the nurse
Hand hygiene breaks the most common mode, contact through the hands of health care workers.
At a glance
| Also written | modes of transmission |
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Related terms
standard precautions
The basic infection-control practices used with every client, whether or not an infection is known.
contact precautions
Infection control steps, used on top of standard precautions, for germs that spread by touching the client or things around them.
airborne precautions
Infection control steps, used with standard precautions, for germs that spread through tiny particles that stay in the air.
droplet precautions
Infection control steps, used with standard precautions, for germs spread by large droplets from coughing, sneezing or talking.