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Image of a daycare worker with children

Employment examine recommended only for employees with regular physical contact with clients e.g., aestheticians, health care professionals, day care employees.

Although there has been only one reported case of healthcare provider-to-patient transmission of molluscum contagiosum, if an employee who comes in physical contact with clients regularly, such as an aesthetician or healthcare provider, is diagnosed with molluscum contagiosum by a healthcare professional, it would be reasonable to require that he/she cover visible lesions with a watertight dressing while at work. Otherwise, no special precautions are needed.

Other precautions can prevent or reduce spread to uninfected people:

  • Frequent and correct hand hygiene practices. For handwashing tips and information, see the Clean Hands Saves Lives site.
  • Requiring notation of molluscum contagiosum on examinations requested for—
    • Employment
      • Recommended only for employees with regular physical contact with clients (e.g., aestheticians, health care professionals, day care employees) who are normally required to have skin examinations during pre-employment physicals.
    • Camp
    • Sports physicals
  • Recommending that all visible lesions be covered by a watertight dressing, if molluscum contagiosum is diagnosed by a healthcare professional during a physical examination.
  • Routinely disinfecting shared equipment (e.g., kick boards, wrestling mats). The molluscum contagiosum virus is not particularly difficult to kill and usual sanitation procedures should be sufficient.
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