What are the limitations of universal precautions?

• A. It covers all body fluids and all transmission routes
• B. It does not cover all body fluids or all routes of transmission
• C. It is only applicable to bloodborne pathogens
• D. It only applies to clinical settings

Answer: (B)

Universal precautions focus on protecting providers by treating blood and certain body fluids as potentially infectious and using barriers and good hygiene. The limitation is that this approach does not cover every body fluid or every way a pathogen can spread. Some fluids or exposure routes fall outside the original scope, so relying only on these precautions can leave gaps. In practice, standard precautions broaden these ideas to all body fluids (except sweat) and nonintact skin or mucous membranes, with additional transmission-based precautions added when specific infections are suspected to address airborne, droplet, or contact spread.