Protecting workers from occupational exposure to Ebola virus: OSHA's preparedness and response activities during the 2014 Ebola outbreak

Currently, most workers in the U.S. are unlikely to encounter Ebola virus or individuals with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD, or Ebola). However, exposure to the virus or someone with Ebola may be more likely in certain sectors or work settings, including healthcare, laboratories, air travel and other transportation operations, mortuaries/death care, and border screening or other law enforcement work. Workers who interact with people, animals, goods, and equipment arriving in the U.S. from foreign countries with current Ebola outbreaks are at the greatest risk for exposure.

Beginning early in the 2014 outbreak, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) undertook efforts to prepare workers and employers in the event that domestic Ebola virus transmission impacted the U.S. on a larger scale. OSHA conducted outreach activities to stakeholders, including worker and industry representatives of those involved in direct care of Ebola patients in the U.S., handling of Ebola-contaminated waste, and interacting with travelers arriving in the U.S. from Ebola-affected countries.

This session will provide an overview of those outreach activities, as well as of OSHA’s Ebola guidance resources. The agency developed a comprehensive web site for workers and employers, focusing on the hierarchy of controls for protecting workers in the highest risk industries. OSHA also published a task-based matrix for selection of PPE for Ebola and related hazards (e.g., chemical exposures); fact sheets on decontamination of environmental surfaces and safer methods for handling, treatment, transport, and disposal of Ebola contaminated waste; and guidance on reducing fatigue among Ebola responders.