Physical and Biological Hazards of the Workplace, 3rd Edition

Chapter 21VIRUSES

Manijeh Berenji^*

ARBOVIRUSES

Common names for disease: Yellow fever, Dengue fever, Chikungunya, Zika fever, Japanese encephalitis, St Louis encephalitis, West Nile encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis, Colorado tick fever

Classification: Family—Flaviviridae, Togaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Reoviridae

Occupational setting

Travelers to and workers in Africa, tropical North and South America, and Asia are most at risk for contracting arboviral diseases. Workers exposed to frequent mosquito bites are at risk for the encephalitides in various parts of the United States and around the world. Locations of arboviral outbreaks continue to change through time. For example, West Nile virus (WNV), previously localized to the Caribbean, was first identified in the United States in 1999. WNV is now the number one cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease in the United States.¹ In 2011, there were 712 cases of WNV reported through the national surveillance system ArboNET, of which 68% were identified as being neuroinvasive (Figure 21.1).² Workers in and travelers to the western United States and western Canada in locations between 4 000 and 10 000 ft above sea level are at risk for Colorado tick fever, also referred to as mountain tick fever and mountain fever (Figure 21.2).³ Workers and travelers to the Caribbean and Central and South America are at risk for Zika fever, after an epidemic began in Brazil in 2015. ...