Section 690.469  Influenza A, Novel Virus (Reportable by telephone immediately, within 3 hours upon initial clinical suspicion or laboratory test order)

a)         Control of Case.

1)         Standard Precautions, including routine use of eye protection, and Contact Precautions shall be followed for patients in health care settings (e.g., hospitals, long-term care facilities, outpatient offices, emergency transport vehicles), use of a respirator at least as protective as an N-95 is recommended during close contact in health care settings, and an airborne infection isolation room or equivalent is recommended during hospitalization.  Cohorting in specific areas or wards may be considered.

2)         If present rules are not adequate, alternative requirements may be issued.  See Section 690.100(d).

b)         Control of Contracts.

1)         Recommendations for control of contracts will be made by the Department based on transmissibility and severity of the illness that caused the novel influenza strain.

2)         Health care workers caring for patients with novel influenza shall be monitored for illness by the health care facility, in collaboration with the local health department.

c)         Laboratory Testing and Reporting.

1)         Virus isolation studies on respiratory specimens from individuals with suspected novel influenza infection should not be performed by clinical laboratories unless approved by the Department.

2)         Laboratories shall immediately report to the local health authority any request for laboratory testing for a novel subtype, or laboratory identification of a suspected novel subtype, in a human specimen.  Novel subtypes include, but are not limited to, H2, H5, H7, and H9 subtypes.  Influenza H1 and H3 subtypes originating from a non-human species are also novel subtypes.  Laboratory evidence of a suspected novel subtype includes any specimen from a human that is polymerase chain reaction or culture positive for influenza A and tests negative for currently circulating H1 and H3 subtypes.

3)         Upon request, laboratories shall forward clinical materials to the Department's laboratory.

(Source:  Added at 32 Ill. Reg. 3777, effective March 3, 2008)