Cal/OSHA CCR Title 5 Section 5199.1, Aerosol Transmissible Diseases – Zoonotic, requires that employers take measures to protect employee health if there is the potential for exposure to aerosol transmissible zoonotic diseases in the course of assigned work. The Standard requires the employer to have a written plan which identifies potential worker exposures and measures to eliminate or minimize exposures, including training, personal protective equipment, occupational health surveillance, and engineering and work practice controls.
Section 5199.1 does not require a new program, but may be implemented as a supplemental appendix to the existing Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). The standard applies to all employees in job classifications that have potential for occupational exposure to animals that are infected with zoonotic disease or untreated waste from such animals. “Occupational exposure” means reasonably anticipated potential for inhalation, ingestion, or parenteral (needlestick or open wound) contact with animal blood, tissues or untreated waste.
Common examples of activities that present opportunities for exposure
to zoonotic disease are:
- Handling or exposure to sick or injured wildlife
- Handling or exposure to untreated waste from animals that have zoonotic disease
Exposure to aerosol transmissible pathogens can occur without handling animals.
Personal Protective Equipment for Field Studies
Selection of PPE can be affected by
- Known and potential zoonoses, and their transmission modes
- Types of animals and vectors handled
- Procedures and the extent of animal handling
- Air flow/weather, and the potential for infectious aerosols or dust
It’s also important to not overheat in the field by piling on insulating PPE Discuss with your PI and Field Safety Officer if the temperature range is forecasted to be warm
(photo credit Hillary Young-McCauley)
Scenarios Requiring Respiratory Protection
A minimum of N95 filtering facepiece respirator is required for:
- Presence of animal-related dusts in the environment with reasonable likelihood to present aerosol infection hazard to employees
- Increased potential of exposure to infectious aerosols, (e.g., handling animals in enclosed/indoor area)
- Responding to a mortality event involving a significant number of animals
Your faculty PI provides all PPE except respiratory protection; respiratory protection is provided by UCSB’s Respiratory Protection Program.
Field scenarios requiring respiratory protection include conducting necropsy or handling animals suspected to be infected with an aerosol transmissible pathogen, working in confined or indoor spaces where feces/urine/guano from birds, rodents or bats are present, or collecting body fluids and tissues from animals with an unknown cause of death.
(photo credit Vanessa Cook)
Standard Practices
Standard practices include:
- Working upwind of potentially contaminated areas or carcasses
- Reassessing exposure risks when moving work indoors
- Being familiar with warning signs for unusual mortality events that could signal mass illness
- Decontaminating traps in between sites
(photo credit Prof Hillary Young McCauley)
Occupational Health: Vaccinations
- For field work involving vertebrate animal interactions, occupational health is coordinated by the IACUC https://www.research.ucsb.edu/animal-subjects/occupational-health-and-safety
- Field work involving wildlife may expose you to a variety of agents, most of which do not have a vaccine
- Seasonal influenza (flu) vaccination will not prevent infection with avian influenza A viruses, but can reduce risk of coinfection with avian and human influenza viruses
- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that people at frequent risk of rabies exposure be vaccinated and have their titers checked. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7118a2.htm?s_cid=mm7118a2_w
- Field biologists would qualify as frequent risk if they either handle potential rabies vectors in an area where terrestrial rabies exists or handle live bats as part of their research.
Occupation Exposure
Occupational exposure is reasonably anticipated work exposure to a source of zoonotic aerosol transmissible pathogens under conditions that, without the use of protective measures, create a significant risk of contracting the disease caused by the pathogen.
Examples: conducting diagnostic sampling of animals with a suspected infection, performing animal husbandry activities with flocks quarantined due to an increased risk of infection with zoonotic pathogens and disposing of infected animal carcasses or their wastes.
How might you detect that you've been exposed?
- Worn PPE is torn or moves out of place during animal/specimen handling
- Touching the exterior surfaces of PPE while taking it off
- Failure to disinfect hands after taking off PPE
Exposures precede symptoms by days – Do not wait for symptoms to develop.