Personal Protective Equipment is used as per standard precautions, where there is anticipated risk of exposure to blood, bodily fluids, non-intact skin and mucous membranes. PPE adds another line of protection for healthcare workers against potential micro-organisms.

In addition to this, PPE is utilised for transmission-based precautions when a patient is known to have or highly likely to have a particular micro-organism spread by a particular route. For more information refer to the CDC’s infection control index*.

*See the CDC’s Infection Control Index here: https://www.cdc.gov/ infectioncontrol/basics/index.html