Safety Tidbit 3.31 - Pandemic Flu

Safety Tidbit 3.31 – Pandemic Flu

Reference:      OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page - Pandemic Influenza

                        OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page – Seasonal Flu

                        CDC Influenza Seasonal website

I had an interesting phone call from a dentist. He was upset that half of workforce at this dental clinic were out sick with the flu and wondered if I give him advice on how he could prevent this from happening next year.

First, a pandemic is a global disease outbreak. An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which there is little or no immunity in the human population; begins to cause serious illness; and then spreads easily person-to-person worldwide. As experienced by our dentist here, a worldwide influenza pandemic could have a major effect on the global economy, including travel, trade, tourism, food, consumption and eventually, investment and financial markets. Ultimately, planning is key. When I was with OSHA we did a lot of disaster planning on how to maintain government operations if a pandemic took place.

Healthcare workers (yes, dental too) in contact with flu exposed patients are at higher risk for exposure to the flu virus and additional precautions are needed. Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a seasonal webpage with updated guidance for protecting individuals from seasonal flu. 

Get the flu shot! Each year the vaccine is revised to protect against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the flu season. Although the flu vaccine’s effectiveness varies from year to year, it can be lifesaving for those at increased risk.  The flu vaccine can:

• keep you from getting flu,
• make the flu less severe if you do get it, and
• keep you from spreading flu to your co-workers, family, and other people.

And to quote Benjamin Franklin’s axiom “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This goes for safety and health.

Hope this was helpful and thanks for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question please let me know.