Evaluation of Potential Employee Exposures to Mycobacterium tuberculosis at an Elephant Refuge

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burr, Gregory A. ; De Perio, Marie A. ; Martin, Stephen B. Jr. ; Mead, Kenneth R. ; Niemeier, R. Todd
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a technical assistance request from officials at a state health department. They asked us to evaluate the ventilation systems, work practices, and personal protective equipment used by employees at an elephant refuge. A state investigation found evidence of elephant to employee transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in nine employees from 2006-2009. The refuge occupied about 2,700 acres and had four barns housing elephants. Most of the roughly 30 employees worked on the refuge grounds around elephants, but some administrative employees worked in a building that was outside the refuge. Several employees lived on the refuge grounds. We made four site visits from 2010 to 2012. During these visits, we met with refuge managers and employees
  
  reviewed employee health records
  
  observed workplace conditions, work processes and practices
  
  and evaluated ventilation systems in barns by measuring pressure differences and by using smoke and tracer gas. On the basis of our findings and recommendations, refuge managers improved the employee screening program for tuberculosis (TB) disease and the respiratory protection program, installed new ventilation systems, and sealed wall openings in the quarantine barn, among other changes. We found that these changes better controlled potential employee exposures to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Additional recommendations we made in this report include: (1) treating all elephants with active TB disease, (2) turning on the barns' exhaust fans 15 minutes before employees enter, and (3) checking air pressure indicators when elephants with known or suspected TB disease are present. We recommended employees (1) get a tuberculin skin test at least every year if their last skin test was negative or they had not been tested, (2) get a medical evaluation for TB disease every year if they had a positive tuberculin skin test in the past, (3) report ventilation system problems to their supervisor, and (4) wear a respirator when working within 25 feet of an elephant with confirmed or suspected TB disease and when entering the isolation or quarantine barn elephant stall areas, even if elephants are not present.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pressure Animals Bacterial Infections Communicable Diseases Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin Tuberculosis Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Activities For Animal Production Air-pressure Bacterial-disease Bacterial-infections Disease-transmission Elephant Employee-exposure Environmental-control Health-hazards Humans Infectious-diseases Lung-disorders Medical-screening Mycobacterium Tuberculosis OSHA Region 4 Pathogens Personal-protective-equipment PPE Pulmonary-system-disorders Refuge Respirators Respiratory-protection Skin-tests TB Tennessee Tracer Gas Tuberculosis Ventilation Ventilation-systems Work-environment Work-practices Zoonoses Zoonosis

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• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2010-0080-3235, 2015 Apr ; :1-27
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201000803235
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Tennessee ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  EID - Education and Information Division ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  34 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Feldmann, Karl D. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Jung Ho Choi ; King, Bradley ; Rohde, Christopher ; Trifonoff, Nick ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046174
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-104157
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2015]. Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of potential employee ; exposures to Mycobacterium tuberculosis at an elephant refuge. By Niemeier RT, ; Mead K, de Perio MA, Martin SB, Burr GA. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health ; and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for ; Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH HHE Report No. 2010-0080-3235,
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  115210 - Support Activities for Animal Production - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:731a025ad032c79905b16b437053fd0348dcc79da18108f9c8891ac8c30fe0c9f289ba09aa3a03b16a4a866e5471d6f786a8346b5cb70943455b1d9e31fa8ce3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172427/cdc_172427_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.32 MB ]