Section 690.350  Chickenpox (Varicella) (Reportable by telephone, facsimile or electronically within 24 hours)

a)         Control of Case

1)         Standard precautions, contact precautions and airborne infection isolation precautions shall be followed for patients in a health care facility until all lesions are dry and crusted. 

2)         Children shall be excluded from school or child care facilities for a minimum of five days after the appearance of eruption or until vesicles become dry.

3)         Adults shall be excluded from the workplace for a minimum of five days after the appearance of eruption or until vesicles become dry.

b)         Control of Contacts

No general restrictions. Susceptible contacts in a health care facility shall be quarantined, as necessary, until the incubation period has elapsed to prevent exposure of immuno-compromised patients.

1)         Susceptible persons who have been exposed to varicella shall be identified.  Susceptible persons are those with no history of disease or vaccination.

2)         Vaccination should be offered to susceptible persons within 120 hours after exposure.

3)         Varicella-specific immune globulin preparation should be offered, if available, to susceptible persons who are medically contraindicated to receive vaccine and are at high risk of developing severe varicella disease and complications. For maximum effectiveness, the varicella-specific immune globulin shall be administered as soon as possible but no longer than 96 hours after exposure.

4)         Health Care Facility Guidance

A)        All exposed susceptible patients shall be discharged as soon as feasible.  All exposed susceptible patients who cannot be discharged shall be placed in airborne infection isolation and contact precautions from days 10 to 21 following exposure to the index case.  For patients who receive varicella-specific immune globulin, airborne infection isolation and contact precautions shall be followed until day 28.

B)        All exposed susceptible health care workers shall be restricted from patient contact from days 10 to 21 following exposure to an index case; this restriction shall be extended to 28 days for persons receiving varicella-specific immune globulin.

c)         Laboratory Reporting

Laboratories shall report to the local health authority all patients who have a positive result on any laboratory test indicative of and specific for detecting varicella infection.

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 5533, effective February 11, 2014)