Abstract
Background and Objectives: The first clusters of SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified in an occupational setting, and to date, a significant portion of the cases may result from occupational exposure; thus, COVID-19 should also be considered a new occupational risk that both directly and indirectly impacts the health of workers. Given the significance of occupational-exposure-related infections and deaths, this study aims to assess the roles and tasks of occupational physicians (OPs) in countering the spread of the infection. Indeed, despite the OP’s centrality in risk management in the workplace, its activity in the current epidemic context has rarely been mentioned. Materials and Methods: Three different databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase) were questioned using the main keywords “COVID-19” and “SARS-CoV-2” that were crossed, according to different needs, with the terms “occupational medicine”, “occupational physician”, “workplace”, and “risk assessment” using, when possible, the MeSH database research. Additionally, a systematic research of the regulatory changes of workplaces health surveillance was performed on reference sites of international, European, and Italian authorities. Results: Fundamental tasks and duties of OPs in the current COVID-19 outbreak are highlighted by examining their clinical activity and technical action. A risk assessment and management workflow is proposed, and medico-legal implications in case of infection at work are also discussed in the light of recent regulatory changes that clearly attribute to OPs an important role in safeguarding public health. Conclusion: The proposed approach can provide new instruments to contrast the spread of the infection as part of a comprehensive system response to the current pandemic, for which OPs are called to assume full responsibility.
Highlights
On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of the detection of cases of unusual pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei Province in China
The first clusters of viral infection were identified in an occupational setting and among workers of the Wuhan seafood market who accounted for more than half of the 47 cases detected until 1 January 2020 when the market was closed [1]
According to a recent technical report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a total of 1377 clusters of SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported in various occupational settings, including 18,198 COVID-19 cases
Summary
On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of the detection of cases of unusual pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei Province in China. In the U.S, according to Baker et al, approximately 10% of workers are employed in occupations where exposure to disease or infection by biological agents occurs at least once per week. The majority of these are health care workers (HCWs), but high percentages of exposed subjects are present in other occupational settings [5]. According to a recent technical report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a total of 1377 clusters of SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported in various occupational settings, including 18,198 COVID-19 cases. Approximately 50% occurred in health and social care facilities, 21% occurred in the food packaging and processing industry, and
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