Clarity Testing Services Blog

Nobody wants to get the flu, but every year, about 50 million people do. In the flu epidemic of 1918, 50 million people died of flu-related complications. Flu is not only a dangerous, debilitating disease, it costs businesses billions of dollars in lost productivity.

There is no foolproof way to guarantee that your employees will not get the flu, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta recommends a flu shot. These vaccinations provide protection against the top three strains of the flu for the coming year. This year's shot will protect those who get it from the H1N1 virus as well as two other of the most common types.

While some of your employees will no doubt take the initiative to get a flu shot on their own, many will not. A great way to encourage your employees to get a flu shot is to host an onsite flu vaccination clinic.

Promote the flu clinic with an all-out campaign by placing posters around your facility. If your company has an intranet site or newsletter, make sure the flu clinic is mentioned prominently. Have a company executive send out a company-wide email announcing the flu clinic. It's a great idea if you make it a business goal to get employees vaccinated against the flu.

The CDC offers a toolkit containing posters and information for businesses and employers who choose to host an onsite flu vaccination clinic. This kit includes some of those promotional items.

Here are some more tips to make your flu clinic successful:

• Get managers and other leaders vaccinated first to set an example.
• Offer incentives. Here are some ideas:
  • Give the shot free or at very low cost. (Balance the cost of the vaccine against how much you would lose if that employee got the flu.)
  • Extend the offer to the families of the employee for free or at low cost.
  • Allow employees to get their shots during working hours without having to punch out.
  • Hold a contest and offer prizes to the department with the highest participation.
  • Provide simple refreshments at the clinic.
• Set up a comfortable and convenient location for the clinic.
• Make sure the clinic is as convenient as possible for employees.

When you consider the contagious nature of the flu, you can see that every one of your employees protected against it can help to ensure the health of your whole workforce.

While hosting a flu vaccination clinic may seem like a benevolent thing to do for your employees, it is also a very smart business practice. If you can reduce the number of your employees who contract influenza this year you will probably reduce your costs in absenteeism and medical costs. After all, how much of the $10.4 billion pie do you really want to pay for?

More info available:

http://www.flu.gov/

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

References:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/business/Toolkit_Seasonal_Flu_For_Businesses_and_Employers.pdf

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/kidsandtheflu/a/05_late_shots.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

http://answers.flu.gov/questions/4253

This entry was posted on October 2, 2011 at 5:54 PM and has received 540 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Whether you call them "standard precautions," "bloodborne pathogen precautions" or "universal precautions," OSHA's standard 1910.1030 was drafted to keep people safe from diseases that can be transmitted by body fluids. Universal precautions were mainly directed at the healthcare field, particularly to those workers involved in the care of patients, all employers—even outside the healthcare industry—ought to be aware of universal precautions. They can apply to just about any organization where people may be exposed to others who fall sick or become injured.

Universal?

The purpose of universal precautions is to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials such as other body fluids including vomit, urine, saliva, feces and mucus.

If an accident happens and body fluids are present, there is the theoretical potential for disease to spread if another person comes in contact with even a tiny amount of that fluid. Universal precautions treats all people ("universal") as if they might be a carrier of a blood-borne pathogen.

The Basics of Universal Precautions

The foundation of Universal Precautions is to avoid contact with the body fluids of another person. In some occupations, such as nursing or dentistry, contact with body fluids is to be reasonably expected during the course of the workday. For such employees, personal protective equipment should be used (gloves, goggles, face shields, gowns, and so on).

In other workplaces, there is no reasonable expectation that an employee would come into contact with another person's body fluids during the workday—but accidents do happen. For example, if someone vomits or gets cut and bleeds in the workplace, the potential for possible blood-borne pathogen transmission exists. In such organizations, the best defense is to wear gloves as a barrier if an employee might have to clean or come in contact with the fluid. The best choice for protective gloves are non-porous, non-latex gloves. (Latex gloves work fine but some people are allergic to latex.)

A Few Tips

• Be prepared. If your organization is not one that reasonably expects to have contact with blood-borne pathogens, you should still have some non-porous gloves available to employees at all times in the workplace.
  • Gloves come in four main sizes (small, medium, large, and extra-large). The supply should include gloves that fit all employees. Individuals with large hands may not be able to fit into a small glove. However, if the glove is too large, it may slip or allow intrusion of fluid.
  • A variety of sizes is best for a large workplace.
  • Although latex gloves are fine, some people are allergic to latex. Non-latex is a good choice that works for everyone.
  • Always dispose of used gloves; never re-use them.
  • Encourage employees to change gloves if they become soiled, that is, an employee cleaning up body fluids may need to use more than one pair of gloves for one task.
  • Do not assume that hands are clean, even when gloves are worn. Always wash hands thoroughly when gloves are removed.
  • Speaking of hand hygiene...Hands should be washed thoroughly before and after using gloves. The CDC's Hand Hygiene Basics offers more information. [LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/Basics.html.]
• Cleaning personnel may come in contact with body fluids and should be considered as part of Universal Precautions (for instance, cleaning of restrooms, emptying trash).

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can also be used, particularly when changing gloves (from one pair to another). As a general rule, hand sanitizers can be used when there is no visible soiling of the hands but hands may have come in contact with pathogens. Whenever there is any kind of visible soiling of the hands, soap and water should be used instead of an alcohol rub. Do not use soap and water along with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer at the same time since it dilutes the hand sanitizer.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_precautions

http://safety.lovetoknow.com/OSHA_Standard_Precautions

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10051

CDC hand hygiene

http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/Basics.html

This entry was posted on September 8, 2011 at 12:20 PM and has received 251 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Mosquitoes have long been a major source of misery for the human race. The diseases they carry have often changed the course of history. In Philadelphia in 1793, a yellow fever epidemic killed 10% of the population and lost the city its status of being the nation's capital. In the Civil War, diseases carried by mosquitoes killed more soldiers than bullets. Yellow fever and malaria forced the French to abandon their efforts to build the Panama Canal. It wasn't until the United States took on the project and employed vigorous mosquito control that the job was finally completed.

Recently a new danger is being spread by mosquitoes: the West Nile Virus. West Nile Virus had been known in Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and the Middle East for many years. It was unknown in the Western Hemisphere until 1999, when cases occurred in the New York City area. Since then, it has spread throughout the country, mainly by migratory birds. The virus is transmitted from birds to humans via mosquitoes.

Symptoms of West Nile Virus may include:

• Headache
• Fever
• Body aches
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Skin rash

More serious case can have these signs and symptoms:

• Headache
• High fever
• Stiffness in the neck
• Disorientation (in very severe cases, coma)
• Tremors and convulsions
• Muscle weakness (in very severe cases, paralysis)

Farm workers, loggers, landscapers, groundskeepers, construction workers, painters, summer camp workers, pavers, and other outdoor workers are likely to be exposed to West Nile Virus through their outdoor work. Highway repairs and paving are frequently done at night, when it is less disruptive to traffic and cooler. Unfortunately, the time between dusk and dawn are when mosquitoes are most active.

How can workers' health be protected?

• Be aware of equipment or areas where water may accumulate and provide a breeding area for mosquitoes
• Get rid of sources of stagnant or standing water
• Use a insect repellent containing DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide)
• Take extra precautions whenever mosquitoes are present and biting
• Do not touch dead birds with bare hands
• Report dead birds and forward the report to local authorities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has links to state and local government sites.

References:

http://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib082903b.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004457/

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control.htm

This entry was posted on September 8, 2011 at 12:11 PM and has received 286 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

In the U.S. more than 150,000 cases of Lyme disease have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1982. The CDC's Lyme disease risk map identifies certain areas of the country as high risk, including the Northeast, areas around the Great Lakes and parts of Northern California. Yet, employers everywhere whose worksites include outdoor areas should be aware of Lyme disease and steps they can take to help minimize the risk to their workers because the risk level can vary even within counties or over time.

Lyme disease is an inflammatory disease caused by a bacterium that is spread through a deer tick bite. Early symptoms may be flu-like and include aches in the muscles and/or joints, headaches, fever, fatigue. If left untreated, Lyme disease can result in severe symptoms that could include heart disease, and/or brain and nerve disorders which can be chronic and disabling.

Some outdoor jobs that can pose the greatest risk of exposure to deer ticks include:

• Construction
• Clearing brush
• Farming
• Forestry
• Land surveying
• Landscaping
• Oil field work
• Park and wildlife management
• Railroad work
• Utility line work

While some work requires entering brushy, overgrown, grassy or woody areas, if workers can do their jobs while avoiding such areas, they should. Other tips for reducing the likelihood of tick bites are:

• Remove leaves, tall grass and brush from around work areas
• Apply tick-toxic chemicals to work areas. (Important: Use chemicals according to federal, state and local regulations.)
• Wear light-colored clothing, which makes it easier to spot and remove ticks before they reach the skin and attach
• Wear long-sleeved shirts
• Wear tall boots or at least shoes that cover the whole foot
• Tuck pants into socks or boots
• Wear a hat
• Use insect repellants according to directions
• Wash and dry clothes at high temperature to kill ticks
• After being outdoors, carefully check the entire body, especially armpits, groin, scalp and other hidden areas
• If a tick is found attached to the body, remove by grasping firmly near the head and pulling without twisting. You can kill the tick with alcohol and clean the area with antiseptic.

Workers at risk should be advised of the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease, as well as preventive measures for this disease. If such signs and symptoms occur or are even suspected, medical care should be sought.

There is a vaccine for Lyme disease. Your physician or medical officer can advise whether this is a useful precaution and explain the potential risks as well as benefits of this vaccination. More detailed information regarding various aspects of Lyme disease prevention can be found on the CDC web site.

OSHA has published a hazard information bulletin (HIB) to provide guidance to people who reside in high- or moderate-risk areas in the United States and who are exposed to ticks during the course of their work and thus at risk of contracting Lyme disease. You can obtain that report free.

References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002296/

http://www.aldf.com/lyme.shtml

http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_LymeFacts/lymefac.pdf

This entry was posted on August 17, 2011 at 2:28 PM and has received 243 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.