Course-and-grounds employees at club properties are especially at risk for the growing threat posed by the new strain, a safety consultant notes, because they often work at the times when mosquitoes are most active (dusk to dawn). Recommended precautions include protective clothing, eradicating mosquito breeding grounds, and additional training and education.
Alan Achatz, CCM, CCE, a consultant who specializes in safety issues affecting club and golf course operations, has issued an advisory related to the growing concern about the Zika virus and how it may pose a particular threat to outdoor workers on club and course properties.
Course-and-grounds employees at club properties are especially at risk, Achatz notes, because they are often working at times when mosquitoes are most active (dusk to dawn).
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released new guidelines for outdoor workers (https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3855.pdf) on the Zika virus, which is primarily spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes, Achatz advises. To date, no local mosquito-borne Zika virus disease cases have been reported in the U.S., but there have been travel-associated cases.
For outdoor workers, OSHA recommends that all employers:
- Inform workers about their risks of exposure to Zika virus through mosquito bites and train them how to protect themselves.
- Visit the Center for Disease Control’s Zika website (http://www.cdc.gov/zika/) frequently for the most updated information.
- Provide insect repellents containing EPA-registered active ingredients and encourage their use.
- Provide workers with, and encourage them to wear, clothing that covers their hands, arms, legs and other exposed skin. Consider providing workers with hats with mosquito netting to protect the face and neck.
- Encourage workers to wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing that covers exposed skin in warm weather. This type of clothing protects workers against the sun’s harmful rays and provides a barrier to mosquitoes. Always provide workers with adequate water, rest and shade, and monitor workers for signs and symptoms of heat illness.
- Get rid of sources of standing water (e.g., tires, buckets, cans, bottles, barrels) whenever possible to reduce or eliminate areas where mosquitoes can lay eggs.
- Train workers about the importance of eliminating standing water at the worksite.
- Consider reassigning workers who indicate they are or may become pregnant, or male workers who have a sexual partner who is or may become pregnant, to indoor tasks to reduce their risk of mosquito bites if requested by a worker.
- If possible, limit the employees’ work exposure by the time of day and/or work area.
Zika is not the only infection transmitted by mosquitos, Achatz notes. As covered in the book, Embracing Safety at Your Club, that is offered by the Club Management Association of America (https://www.cmaa.org/marketplace/p/97/embracingsafetyatyourclub) other viruses that should be guarded against include Eastern equine encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, Dengue and West Nile virus. These illnesses can vary by geographic area and type of mosquito.
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