What infection control precautions are recommended for the care of people with HIV?

• A. Standard precautions; universal precautions; no special CMS restrictions; HIV is not transmitted via casual contact.
• B. Exclusive use of airborne precautions.
• C. Contact precautions for all HIV patients.
• D. No precautions needed.

Answer: (A)

The essential idea is that infection control for people with HIV relies on standard precautions applied to every patient, with universal precautions for handling blood and body fluids. This means consistent hand hygiene, using gloves and other PPE when exposure to blood or body fluids is possible, safe injection practices, needle safety, and routine environmental cleaning. HIV is transmitted through blood, sexual fluids, breast milk, or from mother to child, but not through casual contact, so there are no restrictions based on HIV status for visitors or normal activities. Therefore, care should follow standard precautions with universal precautions, and there are no special CMS restrictions just for HIV.

Airborne precautions are not needed for HIV since it is not spread through the air. Requiring contact precautions for all HIV patients would misrepresent how HIV is transmitted, and saying no precautions are needed ignores the safety measures that protect workers from bloodborne pathogens.