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Keeping Your Employees Safe on Outdoor Construction Sites - Keeping an Eye on West Nile Virus

With most Summer construction related employment taking place on open air job sites, safety managers need to be aware of all outdoor risks including West Nile Virus. West Nile Virus is a seasonal epidemic in North America that flares up in the summer and continues into the fall. Most often the virus is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to humans and other animals when they bite. Even a small outbreak of West Nile Virus could lead to employee absenteeism, loss of time and money and other project delays and interruptions.

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) Up to 20% of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms can last for as short as a few days, though even healthy people have become sick for several weeks. Severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.

To keep your workforce healthy, leading health authorities recommend the following deterrents:

Mosquito Spray
Spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don't apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.

Eliminate Standing Water
Eliminate any standing water from your work site, and dispose of containers that can collect water. Mosquitos lay eggs in standing water.

Protective Clothing
Although it is going to be a long hot Summer - long-sleeves, long pants and socks can help shield individuals from mosquito bites.

When is Biting Time?
The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many species of mosquitoes

Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner commented, "Warm standing water is the ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes... it is vitally important to make sure standing water is reduced to help prevent mosquito breeding," Farley concluded, "This summer it is especially important to take simple personal steps to reduce exposure to mosquitoes, especially for persons 50 years or older. The best way to reduce risk is to wear repellent outdoors in the evening, when mosquitoes are most active."

Mobile Medical Corporation (MMC), a Pittsburgh Drug Testing firm and national on-site medical services provider is an advocate for workplace safety. MMC continually monitors the media and government sites for news and information relating to job site safety and will publish important updates and helpful news items when available.
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