Page updated 30 April 2007
Occupational Health - Special Groups of Workers
Pregnant Personnel
Acute cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy may occasionally infect the fetus. Some patients, especially neonates, with cytomegalovirus infection are identified in the early stages and they may excrete large amounts of virus in the urine. Because the risk to the fetus of primary infection in a mother is very low and because primary infection with cytomegalovirus is very unlikely providing routine hygienic precautions are taken, it is not recommended that pregnant nurses need specifically avoid nursing a known positive patient. However, pregnant staff should avoid any unnecessary contact with any patient in Source Isolation.
Catering Staff
Any catering staff worker who has suffered diarrhoea should be referred by their manager to the Occupational Health Department and excluded from duty until cleared. Detailed protocols and training for the health of catering staff must be provided.
Staff with septic skin lesions (boils, infected wounds etc.) or discharge from the ears should not work and should report to the Occupational Health Department before being allowed on duty.
On return from travel, any significant illness, particularly diarrhoea and skin infections must be reported to Occupational Health and should be declared free from infection before starting work.
Maternity Staff
Any staff caring for neonates must report any sickness immediately and will be excluded from duty. Staff with upper respiratory infections, infectious diarrhoea, skin sepsis, paronychia, whitlows or active cold sores should be excluded from handling babies. These infections are readily spread to neonates.
Laundry Staff
Staff should wear proper approved domestic gloves and overalls for sorting and must be provided with adequate personal washing facilities. Training in personal hygiene is important. Staff with skin sepsis should not handle clean laundry.
Operating Theatre Staff
No member of an operating theatre team should remain at work in an operating theatre if suffering from a septic skin lesion or paronychia.
Clinical Workers
Medical and nursing personnel must not have direct patient contact if they have active eczema, infected eczema, any infectious skin condition (cellulitis, scabies, paronychia, etc).
Works Staff
Engineers and works' staff likely to come in contact with sewage must be vaccinated against tetanus, hepatitis A virus, typhoid and polio.
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