Dust Exposure and Coccidioidomycosis Prevention Among Solar Power Farm Construction Workers in California

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gilliss D ; Materna BL ; McNary, Jennifer ; Shusterman D ; Sondermeyer Cooksey GL ; Vugia DJ ; Wilken JA
• Description:
  Objectives. To investigate if work activities, dust exposure, and protection measures were associated with a 2011 to 2014 coccidioidomycosis outbreak among workers constructing 2 solar farms in California. Methods. In 2013, we mailed self-administered questionnaires to employees who were onsite at the solar farms where the outbreak occurred to identify cases of clinical coccidioidomycosis and compare with asymptomatic workers by using multivariate logistic regression. Results. When we compared 89 workers with clinical coccidioidomycosis to 325 asymptomatic workers, frequently being in a dust cloud or storm (odds ratio [OR] = 5.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.18, 11.06) significantly increased the odds of clinical coccidioidomycosis, whereas frequently wetting soil before soil-disturbing activity (OR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.24, 0.75) was protective. When we controlled for being in a dust cloud or storm, frequent soil disturbance significantly increased the odds of clinical coccidioidomycosis only among those who reported wearing a respirator infrequently (OR = 2.31; 95% CI = 1.27, 4.21). Conclusions. Utilization of personal and employer-driven safety practices and increased coccidioidomycosis awareness among construction workers should be considered during the planning of any construction work in coccidioidomycosis-endemic regions to prevent occupational infections and outbreaks. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Construction Industry Dust Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Coccidioidomycosis Construction Workers Dust Exposure Dust Suppression Infection Prevention Infectious Diseases Safety Practices Solar Energy Utility Workers Valley Fever
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Georgia ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  107
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066533
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2017 Aug; 107(8):1296-1303
• Contact Point Address:
  Gail L. Sondermeyer Cooksey, Infectious Diseases Branch, California Department of Public Health, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Building P, 2nd Floor, Richmond, CA 94804
• Email:
  gail.cooksey@cdph.ca.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8d40989ba7dd76ff4a208c2a05d070f6a5563e4fd24ec81bf850eaab89ce66e4d3205519bec05755cbd5cf290744235f3f8090a154cbc89e0bf7515baa605280
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231110/cdc_231110_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 703.13 KB ]