Guidelines for medical exclusion of adults at UTS with specified infectious diseases
Updated November 2007
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This table lists infectious diseases and the corresponding UTS guidelines for the exclusion of cases and contacts for adults at UTS:
| Infectious disease | Exclusion of cases | Exclusion of contacts |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken pox | Exclude for at least 5 days after the spots appear and until all blisters have formed scabs | Any child with an immune deficiency should be excluded for their own protection. Otherwise not excluded. (Pregnant women should seek medical advice) |
| Cold sores (Herpes simplex) | Not excluded. Carers with cold sores should not look after babies younger than 2 months. | Not excluded |
| Common cold | Not excluded | Not excluded |
| 1 Conjunctivitis | Exclude until discharge from eyes has ceased. | Not excluded |
| Cytomegalovirus (CMV) | Not excluded | Not excluded (Pregnant women should seek medical advice) |
| 1 Diarrhoea (rotavirus) campylobacter, cryptosporidium, shigella salmonella etc; see also Giardia | Exclude until diarrhoea has ceased (campylobacter and shigella may require antibiotic treatment; advice may be obtained from the local public health unit) | Not excluded |
| Diphtheria | Exclude until medical certificate of recovery is received following at least two negative throat swabs, the first not less than 24 hours after finishing a course of antibiotics and the other 48 hours later. | Exclude family/household contacts until cleared by public health authority |
| Erythema Infectiosum (fifth disease) | Not excluded | Not excluded (pregnant women should seek medical advice) |
| 1 Giardia | Excluded until person has received appropriate antibiotic treatment for at least 4 days | Not excluded (stool testing suggested if contact has diarrhoea) |
| Glandular fever | Not excluded | Not excluded |
| 1 Haemophilus Influenzae type b (HIB) | Exclude until medical certificate of recovery is received | Not excluded |
| Hand, foot and mouth disease | Not excluded | Not excluded |
| Hepatitis A | Exclude until a medical certificate of recovery is received, but not before seven days after the onset of jaundice or illness. | Not excluded |
| Hepatitis B | Not excluded | Not excluded |
| Hepatitis C | Not excluded | Not excluded |
| Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) | Not excluded unless another infection requires exclusion | Not excluded |
| 1 Impetigo (school sores) | Exclude until appropriate treatment has commenced. Sores on exposed surfaces must be covered with a watertight dressing. | Not excluded |
| 1 Influenza There is further information about influenza | During influenza outbreaks, exclude for 5 days after start of symptoms | Not excluded |
| Leprosy | Exclude until allowed to return by public health authority | Not excluded |
| Measles | Exclude for 4 days after the rash first appears | Immunised contacts not excluded. Unimmunised contacts are to be immunised within 72 hours of contact with a case, or they will be excluded for the duration of the outbreak as determined by the public health unit. |
| Meningitis, bacterial | Exclude until well | Not excluded (contact local Public Health Unit regarding need for preventative antibiotics for family and child-care contacts) |
| Meningococcal infection | Exclude until appropriate antibiotic treatment has been completed | Not excluded |
| Mumps | Exclude for nine days or until swelling goes down (whichever is sooner) | Not excluded |
| Poliomyelitis | Exclude for at least 14 days from onset. Re-admit after receiving medical certificate of recovery | Not excluded |
| 1 Ringworm (tinea), scabies, pediculosis (head lice), trachoma | Exclude until day after treatment is started | Not excluded (it may be advisable for all household contacts to be treated at the same time as the case) |
| Roseola | Not excluded | Not excluded |
| Rubella (German measles) | Exclude for 4 days after rash appears | Not excluded (pregnant women should seek advice) |
| Streptococcal infection and scarlet fever | Exclude until 24 hours of antibiotics has been given | Not excluded |
| Tuberculosis and paratyphoid fever 2 | Exclude until medical certificate is produced from appropriate health authority | Not excluded (2unless considered necessary by public health authorities) |
| Whooping cough (Pertussis) | Exclude for five days after starting antibiotic treatment. | Exclude unimmunised household contacts for first 5 days of an appropriate course of antibiotics. If antibiotics not taken exclude for 21 days since last exposure when the person was infectious. |
Notes
1 Not excluded for adult population at a tertiary institution as long as appropriate hygiene is maintained.
2 Not excluded, unless considered necessary by public health authorities.