As long as tuberculosis is contagious, special precautions must be taken to protect others from infection. As a rule, the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis begins in hospital. If the patient has contagious pulmonary tuberculosis, they are isolated in a single room until there is no longer any risk of infection for others – which is usually the case after a few weeks of effective treatment.

However, the duration of contagiousness depends primarily on the initial pathogen load, i.e., the number of tuberculosis bacteria detected at the outset, as well as the severity and spread of the disease. In order to assess contagiousness, various follow-up examinations are necessary after the start of therapy. Criteria for response to treatment include, for example, the subsiding of symptoms, weight gain (if malnutrition was present at the time of diagnosis), and improvement in the findings on the chest X-ray.
‍
The assessment of infectiousness is always carried out on a case-by-case basis by the treating physicians. However, isolation measures should be observed for at least 14 days in cases of infectious tuberculosis. In some cases, however, isolation measures must be extended, especially if the patient has a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.

While the person with tuberculosis is still contagious, all visitors to the patient's room must wear a respirator mask (FFP2 mask) to prevent infection. The patients themselves should wear a mouth-nose mask to reduce the spread of pathogens into the environment when coughing.

When sick people leave their room, e.g. for an examination, a face mask must also be worn. It is important to put it on correctly. The nursing staff or their doctors can help to put the mask on correctly and explain how to use it.

The extent to which isolation in the home environment is possible must be checked with your local health authority.

Further information can be found in the DZK recommendations on infection prevention and hygiene in tuberculosis.