At least one state made good on threats to fine healthcare facilities if they didn’t protect their employees by following H1N1 flu standards.
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Tags: DOSH, H1N1, healthcare, respirators, swine flu
Disinfectants can be useful in limiting spread of any type of influenza, including swine flu. But what exactly can these products do, and what can’t they do?
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Tags: disinfectants, EPA, H1N1, swine flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates almost 4,000 deaths in the U.S. were related to swine flu between April and mid-October.
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Tags: flu deaths, H1N1, swine flu
Employees across the country have a message for their co-workers during this H1N1 flu season: Don’t come in if you’re sick.
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Tags: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, H1N1, swine flu
Employees across the country have a message for their co-workers during this H1N1 flu season: Don’t come in if you’re sick.
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Tags: H1N1 flu, stay home from work, swine flu
What measure to prevent the spread of H1N1 (swine) flu do you hear about most in the media? For the moment - until the H1N1 vaccine is available, it’s hand washing. But does it really hinder the spread of swine flu?
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Tags: Centers for Disease Control, flu shot, H1N1 swine flu, hand washing, send employees home
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released updated guidance that recommends action non-healthcare employers should take against swine (H1N1) and seasonal flu during the fall and winter of 2009-2010.
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The World Health Organization has declared a swine flu pandemic, the first global flu epidemic in 41 years.
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A few weeks ago, cable news seemed saturated with news about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and its spread to the U.S. Did government officials and the media over-react?
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Tags: new strain of the flu, protect your employees from flu, swine flu overblown
Just as people are being asked to stay home from non-essential work in Mexico to stop the spread of the swine flu, a pandemic in the U.S. might require similar steps.
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Tags: businesses prepare for flu pandemic, germ control, workplace access and security
Industry Experts Offer Advice on Keeping Employees Safe and Healthy
As health experts raised the threat level of the swine flu to 5, indicating “a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent,” some U.S. businesses are just now beginning to look at ways to prepare for the potential health, social, and economic impact of a flu pandemic.
“Planning for pandemic influenza is critical, and the business community must not delay in considering the impact of a pandemic and to adjust their company’s employee health and safety plans accordingly,” says Lindsey Booher, CIH, CSP, president of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. “Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees, and by following guidelines based on traditional infection control and industrial hygiene practices, employers can play a key role in protecting their employees from influenza and other communicable illnesses.”
During a pandemic flu outbreak, industrial hygienists will have responsibility for both ensuring worker health and safety and maintaining an adequate work force to accommodate changes in workflow and production. As industrial hygienists play a major role in the control of infectious diseases, they already undertake the critical function of educating employers and governments about the effectiveness of industrial hygiene expertise, tools, and processes that will control infectious diseases.
If you do not already have the AIHA-published, “The Role of the Industrial Hygienist in a Pandemic,” now is the time to get this essential reference. Written by the AIHA Biosafety and Environmental Microbiology Committee, the guideline provides resources, information, and tools to advise and assist general workers, health care workers, and management to protect workers in the case of a flu pandemic. This guide identifies hazards, risk groups, and recommended controls; offers a communication plan; describes the impact of a flu pandemic on organizations, and lists key resources to contact for further information.
Tags: swine flu
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