Updated Guidance: Prevention Strategies for Seasonal Influenza in Healthcare Settings

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seeks public comment on proposed new guidance which will update and replace previous seasonal influenza guidance and the Interim Guidance on Infection Control Measures for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Healthcare Settings. The updated guidance emphasizes a prevention strategy to be applied across the entire spectrum of healthcare settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, physicians' offices, urgent-care centers, and home health care, but is not intended to apply to settings whose primary purpose is not health care. It focuses on the importance of vaccination, steps to minimize the potential for exposure such as respiratory hygiene, management of ill healthcare workers, droplet and aerosol-generating procedure precautions, surveillance, and environmental and engineering controls. CDC will consider the comments received and intends to publish the final guidance prior to the 2010-2011 influenza season.