Cross infection

Question

My daughter has CF and attends a private school. Another child with CF has applied to our school for the coming year. The children will be in different classrooms, but will come in contact in confined spaces (e.g. school bus, school theatre and feasts, some classrooms for elective subjects, break during bad weather, etc). Is there any risk for one child getting infected by the other, if one is colonized with pseudomonas?
Thank you.

Answer

Dear friend,
based on the description of the situation I do not think that there is a risk for crossinfection, provided of course that the two children do not attend school at the same classroom and do not ride the same schoolbus to and from school. You can contact the CF center, where your child is monitored, for more detailed information on the issue of crossinfection.
Yours friendly,
Dr. Stavros Doudounakis

20.07.2009

20.07.09
This question was asked before by German parents and as this is a tricky question with no defenit right or wrong - we asked several experts about this topic. We tried to find a consensus on the different views of the experts in the former answer, which can be read here

"Dear questioner:

This is not an uncommon situation in CF. However, your question is not easy to answer as there is no clear right or wrong.
On one hand it is highly unlikely that your son will have such a close contact to the other child with CF mentioned that a non-negilable risk of cross infection occurs. The chance to be confronted with Pseudomonas bacteria, which in general can be found in any everyday surrounding, thus also in the new school even without a child with CF, is doubtlessly several times higher.
On the other hand, there exists a certain possibility that both children come across each other in the schoolyard or the corridors or they will use the same gym or class room after the other. Even if the risk of infection is minimal as long as there is no direct physical contact or both children do not stay in one small room for a longer time period, it is important to recognize that there is some risk. However, this risk can be minimized further, if good hygienic precautions are taken (e.g. disinfection of equipment if one child with CF has expectorated secretions accidentally on it) and the two children would never be in the same room together. However, with children, it is sometimes difficult to guarantee a full segregation (meeting at school events, sports days, in the dinner hall etc) and then the risk increases.
Thus: The decision, if your child can go to the same school as the other child with CF depends on his particular environment, and needs an extensive discussion with you as parents about how secure you feel about segregation being maintained and therefore favour your child going to that school, considering the fact that the risk is very small. On the other hand you have to consider how difficult it would logistically be to send your child to another school in case the worries about the risk of cross-infection, which cannot totally be excluded, weigh too heavy.

With kind regards
Dr. H.-G. Posselt"

D. d'Alquen