Which patient should be avoided from being assigned to the nurse caring for a patient with a contagious infectious disease?

The patient undergoing chemotherapy should indeed be avoided from being assigned to the nurse caring for a patient with a contagious infectious disease. This is due to the immunosuppressive effects of chemotherapy, which significantly weaken a person's immune system. Patients in this category are at a much higher risk for infection, as their bodies are less able to fight off pathogens. Being around someone with a contagious disease could expose them to pathogens that their compromised immune systems could struggle to combat, leading to severe complications or even life-threatening situations.

Patients receiving radiation therapy, those who had a kidney transplant, and individuals who had surgical removal of the spleen are also at risk for infections, but the specific impact and vulnerability may vary based on individual health status and the type of treatment they are undergoing. While these patients could also be considered vulnerable, the degree of immunosuppression caused by chemotherapy typically makes those patients the most at risk in this context. Therefore, the priority is to protect the most vulnerable individuals, which in this scenario, is the patient undergoing chemotherapy.