14.4 million U.S. workers exposed to infectious diseases at work

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.April 29, 2020

Researchers at the University of Washington have calculated that 14.4 million workers are exposed once a week and 26.7 million workers are infected at work at least once a month, Indicates that a significant population needs protection

Marissa Baker, Associate Professor of UW School of Public Health, builds on her calculations based on a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 2018. In that paper, Baker and co-authors found that about 8% of workers in Federal Region X (composed of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) experience exposure to infection or illness at least once a week at work. I calculated that I was working in the workplace. These risks include influenza-like illness, MRSA, and other respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, as well as wound infections.

Using the same method of analysis as the federal employment data, Baker and her co-authors determined:

Ten percent (14,425,070) of US workers are employed in occupations that result in at least weekly exposure to a disease or infectious disease, based on employee and employer self-reports.

18.4% (26,669,810) of US workers are employed in occupations that expose them to disease or infection at least once a month, based on employee and employer self-reports.

A new paper on worker exposure has been published PLOS ONE April 28th.

Although the majority of workers exposed to infections and illnesses are healthcare workers, other occupations that interact frequently with the general public and provide important services are also at increased risk of exposure. They include police officers, firefighters, childcare workers, and personal care assistants. This underscores the importance of all types of occupations in developing workplace response plans for infectious diseases. “

Marissa Baker, Program Director, Department of Environmental and Industrial Health Sciences, UW Occupational Health / Exposure Sciences Program

While these response plans should include ways to keep workers safe from workplace exposures, they do not need to be sick and prevent illnesses that can spread both inside and outside the workplace. You also need.

Some of the higher salary, safer jobs, and more salary workers have the time to work at home or leave their jobs, but those who participate in the gig economy Many workers, such as and independent contractors, do not have the same options. Generally, it is not considered an employee. These workers do not benefit from employee protection policies such as sick leave and, despite public health guidance, are at increased risk of having to work when they and their loved ones are ill. I will.

Even when a worker pays sick leave and knows how to access it, there are various other real and perceived pressures-for example, an economy that rewards people who work hard all the time, Others can do it, such as the pressure that no one works, and encourage workers to get sick. This is a phenomenon that researchers call “presentityism.”

“Our findings draw important attention to the fact that the workplace should be the focus of public health interventions, especially in the occurrence of illnesses like COVID-19,” Baker said. He added that he has created a new study to help clarify the facts and answers questions about the 2018 paper and its current application to national outbreaks. Estimating the burden on American workers exposed to infectious diseases and illnesses is an important factor in reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection.

“The public health impact of our investigation,” Baker said. “At work, there is a need to make an emergency plan that not only protects the workers in the workplace, but also keeps sick workers from coming to work, which allows workers to fill out each other. It can be achieved by training in and providing additional paid sick leave during this period and taking similar steps. ”