Final answer:
Contact precautions are measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases through direct or indirect contact, involving the use of personal protective equipment and hand hygiene. Diseases like MRSA, VRE, and C. difficile often require these precautions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Contact precautions are safety measures used in healthcare settings to prevent the spread of certain infectious diseases that are transmitted through direct or indirect contact with the patient or the patient's environment. For instance, equipment that has been contaminated can act as a vehicle for the transmission of pathogens. These precautions typically involve the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves and gowns, and may also require healthcare providers to follow strict hand hygiene protocols.
The most common diseases that necessitate contact precautions include those caused by multidrug-resistant organisms such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and certain gastrointestinal infections like Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile). Skin and wound infections, as well as certain respiratory infections, may also require such measures, depending on the pathogen involved.