The first step in isolation involves putting a patient in a private hospital room, or in a room with someone with the same infection, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease physician at the University of Pittsburgh. [5 Most Likely Real-Life Contagions]
Then, doctors follow different protocols depending on the type of infection the person has — including whether the infection can be spread by physical contact, by droplets of body fluids or through the air, Adalja said.
If the infection can be spread by contact, like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), doctors wear gloves and a gown, Adalja said. If the infection is spread by droplets — like those of a cough or sneeze — doctors wear gloves and a gown, along with a surgical mask and eye protection.
If the infection can spread long distance through the air, like tuberculosis, doctors would take all the precautions that are needed for an illness spread by droplets, but they would also wear a special respirator mask that filters airborne particles, called an N95 mask, Adalja said. In addition, patients with an airborne infection would be placed in a negative-pressure room, which prevents contaminated air from escaping into a hospital, Adalja said.
When treating an Ebola patient, doctors would take both contact and droplet precautions, just like they would with a patient who had the flu or the recent enterovirus D68, Adalja said. Some hospitals might take airborne precautions, but that would go beyond what's recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because Ebola is not spread through the air. (Ebola is spread by contact with bodily fluids.)
"It's understandable that a lot of hospitals are nervous about taking care of Ebola patients," and would take airborne precautions, Adalja said. But "that’s not necessary," he said.