| Category | Preventive practices | Infectious agent | Vaccines |
| Food, water safety | Drink boiled or filtered water, sealed bottled soda, water, sports drinks, carbonated drinks. Wash fresh produce before eating. Eat raw fruits only if you have peeled them yourself or know who has peeled. Raw poultry, meat, fish, and seafood should be handled separately from other foods. Cook poultry and meat according to recommendations. Avoid soft cheeses and smoked deli meats. Consume only pasteurized dairy products. | Cryptosporidium and other waterborne pathogens, hepatitis A, Salmonella, Toxoplasma, Escherichia coli 0157, Listeria monocytogenes, norovirus, Brucella spp | HAV |
| Environmental safety* | Avoid construction sites and any other areas with large amount of dust in the air. Avoid heavy exposure to soil. Avoid areas with heavy bird droppings. | Aspergillus spp, NTM, Cryptococcus, Histoplasma, Coccidioides, Blastomyces, Nocardia spp | None |
| Animal safety | Perform hand hygiene after contact with animals. Use soap and water if hands are visibly soiled. Avoid cleaning (cat) litter box if possible, or wear gloves if you must change a litter box. Avoid reptiles as pets. Avoid contact with water in aquariums or use hand hygiene if contact cannot be avoided. | Influenza strains transmitted from animals, E. coli 0157, Toxoplasma, Salmonella, Mycobacterium marinum | Influenza vaccine |
| Travel safety | Follow food and water safety practices above. Consult CDC travel page for current preventive measures by geographic area (wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel), with special attention to recommendations for those travelers who are immunocompromised; chemoprophylaxis and mosquito protection by area. | Examples by geographic area: Neisseria meningitidis (the Hajj, sub-Saharan Africa), Japanese encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus; Salmonella Typhi, malaria, chikungunya, dengue | HAV, HBV; specific vaccines per geographic area |
| Person-to-person; respiratory tract; safe sex | Avoid crowded places during influenza season. Avoid or maintain 3- to 6-feet distance from people who are coughing or sneezing. Screening for TB: - At initial IBD diagnosis (risk factor, PPD, TST, and IGRA)
- Annually while receiving anti-TNF-alpha (risk factors and immunodiagnostics, see text for details)
Use latex condoms for sexual activity when not in a long-term, monogamous relationship. | Respiratory tract viruses (eg, influenza, RSV); Mycobacterium tuberculosis; CMV, HSV, HIV, HPV, HBV, HCV, and other sexually transmitted agents | Influenza vaccine patients, contacts; HBV, HPV |
| Immunizations | Immunize with killed vaccines per annual ACIP/AAP recommendations and IDSA recommendations for immunocompromised hosts. Avoid live virus vaccines during periods of immunosuppression. | Refer to vaccination section and annual immunization recommendations | Refer to vaccination section and annual immunization recommendations |
