Does the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have workplace guidance and standards that cover pandemic influenza?
OSHA does not have a specific standard for avian influenza or pandemic influenza but a number of its standards for workplace safety and health may be applicable during an outbreak of avian influenza or pandemic influenza, including the: • respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134), • personal protective equipment standards (29 CFR 1910.132 and 29 CFR 1910.133), and • bloodborne pathogens standard (29 CFR 1910.1030). Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is caused by influenza viruses that normally reside in the intestinal tract of wild waterfowl and shore birds where they rarely cause disease. However, when these viruses infect poultry, they can cause either a mild disease, referred to as low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) or a severe disease, referred to as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The HPAI H5N1 viruses have caused the deaths of millions of birds and have caused illness and death in humans in a number of countries, including those in Asia, Africa and the
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- Are Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") and/or Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") standards part of the scope of the test?
- Does the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have workplace guidance and standards that cover pandemic influenza?
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