The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OSHA in late April issued new guidance and information for protecting workers from occupational exposure to Zika virus.
Employees of U.S. companies seeking to avoid exposure to the Zika virus likely have few legal avenues to either refuse travel to affected areas or sue if they actually become sick from the virus, according to a report by Reuters news service.
Public health experts are bracing for the appearance of the Zika virus – which causes severe birth defects among pregnant women who’ve been exposed to it – in the United States. However, they predict that it will not have the same devastating effect that it’s had in South America and the Caribbean.
CDC is working with other public health officials to monitor for ongoing Zika virus transmission. Today, CDC added the following destinations to the Zika virus travel alerts: Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde, and Samoa. On January 15, CDC issued a travel alert (Level 2-Practice Enhanced Precautions) for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory; Brazil; Colombia; El Salvador; French Guiana; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Martinique; Mexico; Panama; Paraguay; Suriname; and Venezuela. Specific areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing are often difficult to determine and are likely to continue to change over time.
For most of the country, the winter months often bring colder temperatures, snow, indoor activities and an increase in the spread of germs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cold and flu season typically peaks in the United States between December and February.2
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American Red Cross have renewed their alliance to continue efforts to reduce workplace incidents and protect workers from hazardous exposures.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has begun training for airport workers, in order to equip cabin cleaners, janitorial workers, baggage handlers, security officers and wheelchair attendants with the tools necessary to better tackle infectious diseases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends eye protection for a variety of potential exposure settings where workers may be at risk of acquiring infectious diseases via ocular exposure.
NIOSH reports about 2,000 U.S. workers sustain job-related eye injuries that require medical treatment each day. However, safety experts and eye doctors believe the right eye protection could have lessened the severity or even prevented 90% of these eye injuries.
