Washington – NIOSH on Nov. 2 released updated resources to help prevent emergency response employees from exposure to infectious diseases.
The new list of potentially life-threatening diseases and related guidelines are mandated by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act and reflect public comments received between December 2010 and February 2011.
In addition to previously recognized diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and tuberculosis, the list now includes anthrax, cutaneous; novel influenza A and other influenza strains with pandemic severity index greater than or equal to 3; hepatitis C; measles; mumps; pertussis; rubella; severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV); smallpox; vaccinia; varicella disease; and select agents.
