How can I prevent the spread of infectious diseases?
There are several steps that you can take to prevent the spread of infectious diseases:
Practice good hygiene: Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially after using the bathroom, before eating, and after coming into contact with someone who is sick. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Cover your mouth and nose: Use a tissue or the inside of your elbow to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Discard used tissues immediately and wash your hands.
Avoid close contact: Try to avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay away from large gatherings and crowded areas if you are feeling ill.
Clean and disinfect: Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects, such as doorknobs, light switches, and electronic devices.
Get vaccinated: Stay up to date on recommended vaccinations, which can help protect you and those around you from certain infectious diseases.
Wear a mask: wear a mask when in public, and especially in closed spaces where social distancing is hard to maintain.
Practice social distancing: Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from other people when in public, if possible.
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It is also important to monitor your own health and seek medical attention if you experience any symptoms of an infectious disease. If you are diagnosed with an infectious disease, it is important to follow the advice of your healthcare provider and public health officials to prevent spreading the disease to others.
Prevent the spread of infectious disease
There are simple things you and your family can do to stop the spread of infectious disease at home, school or in your workplace.
What you can do
As well as maintaining good general health, there are some basic actions that everyone can take to stop the spread of infectious diseases:
- Immunize against infectious diseases
- Wash and dry your hands regularly and well
- Stay at home if you are sick
- Cover coughs and sneezes
- Clean surfaces regularly
- Ventilate your home
- Prepare food safely
- Practice safe sex
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Immunize against infectious diseases
Immunization is a way of preventing infectious diseases. Immunizations are offered to babies, children and adults to protect against serious and preventable diseases. Find out more about getting immunized.
It is important to ensure you are up to date with your immunizations. Check with your doctor or nurse to see if you have had all your immunizations. Are your immunizations up to date?
To read the list of free immunizations and the ages at which they’re recommended check the National Immunization Schedule.
Influenza – the flu
Influenza is a serious disease that can cause severe illness in some people – it is worse than a cold. Influenza spreads quickly from person to person through touch as well as through the air.
Immunization is your best defence against influenza. Influenza viruses change from year-to-year, so the seasonal influenza vaccine is made especially each year to cover the strains of the virus most likely to be circulating the following winter.
Wash your hands well
How to wash
Washing hands properly is one of the most important and effective ways of stopping the spread of infections and illnesses.
Wash your hands thoroughly using water and plain soap.
Wash for at least 20 seconds and dry them completely.
Using warm water is preferable, if available.
If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
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When to wash
Always wash and dry your hands:
before eating or preparing food after:
sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose (or wiping children’s or other people’s noses)
gardening or outside activities
having contact with animals
using the toilet or changing nappies
looking after sick people.
Read the steps to good hand washing
Useful tips – Health Navigator website
Stay at home if you’re sick
It’s important that if you’re unwell you stay at home to stop the spread of the infection to others.
Keep your distance (at least 1 meter away) from other members of your household to stop them from getting ill as well.
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Cover coughs and sneezes
Some infectious diseases can be transferred in the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Examples include influenza, measles and chicken pox.
If you are unwell, avoid close contact with other people. Cover your coughs and sneezes to stop spreading the illness to other people.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze – then put the tissue in a bin.
If you do not have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow.
Clean your hands after you cover a cough or sneeze.
Read more about good hygiene when you have a cough or a cold.
Keep household surfaces clean
Some infectious diseases can be spread by touching a surface or object that has been contaminated by an infected person.
Regularly cleaning household surfaces that are frequently touched will help reduce the spread of infections. Some examples of frequently used surfaces include tables, bench tops, door handles, light switches, toys and taps.
Clean surfaces with hot soapy water or your normal household cleaning product. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions on correct product use.
Where possible, use disposable cloths or paper towels to clean surfaces. Reusable cloths should be disinfected and then dried after use, as bacteria and viruses can still survive on damp cloths.
Practical tips are listed on the National Health Service website: How to prevent germs from spreading.
Ventilate your home
Poor ventilation in rooms can increase the spread of infectious diseases. Open windows regularly to get fresh air circulating.
If you have air conditioning or a heat pump, make sure the system is maintained and the filters cleaned.
Practice safe sex
For protection against sexually transmissible infections (STIs), you should always use a condom. Read more about preventing the spread of STIs at Safer sex and condoms.
A list of resources and sexual health topics are listed in the section Sexual health section.