Employees with laboratory-confirmed influenza have more lost work time — including absences and reduced productivity while at work—compared to those with other types of acute respiratory illness (ARI), reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Compared to non-influenza ARI, [workers] with influenza lose an additional half-day of work due to absenteeism/presenteeism over the week following symptom onset."

The wildfires raging throughout Southern California right now are taking life, destroying property, and endangering people who are tasked with performing response and recovery operations. During a wildfire, workers may be caught in circumstances that require them to quickly evacuate. The Ready.gov - Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) website offers guidance on what to do during a wildfire if in a vehicle, in a residence, or out in the open.

The era of driverless vehicles appears to be rapidly approaching, raising a bevy of urgent questions about how to prevent the emergence of new hazards on the nation’s roads. So, how much preparation have federal transportation authorities carried out to meet the challenge of the advent of self-driving cars and trucks? Not nearly enough, according to a new 44-page report by the Government Accountability Office, a Congressional watchdog agency.

OSHA has cited Benco Builders of the Virginias Inc. for multiple safety hazards, including lack of fall protection, after an employee suffered serious injuries from a 19-foot fall off a roof. The Princeton, West Virginia-based contractor faces proposed penalties totaling $86,916. After inspecting a work site where Benco was the general contractor responsible for demolishing an existing structure and constructing two steel/metal buildings, OSHA issued a willful citation for failure to provide and require employees to wear fall protection during roofing work.

Infant deaths from critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) decreased more than 33 percent in eight states that mandated screening for CCHD using a test called pulse oximetry, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In addition, deaths from other or unspecified cardiac causes decreased by 21 percent. Pulse oximetry is a simple bedside test to determine the amount of oxygen in a baby’s blood and the baby’s pulse rate. Low levels of oxygen in the blood can be a sign of a CCHD.

It appears a welding accident lead to a deadly fire in Clovis, New Mexico. Three people were killed one was seriously injured. “This is one of the largest losses of life we’ve seen,” said Clovis Police Captain Roman Romero. The three deceased are John Sandoval, 54; Robert Elebario, 51; and Billie Grabowsky, 52. Rogelio Hernandez was the only one who survived the fire. He was treated at Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis. “I asked him what happened and what does he remember, and he said they were just in the shop welding a piece of pipe to a car and they noticed the gas can nearby had caught a spark,” explained Rogelio’s niece, Casandra Hernandez.

What’s the best way to avoid the flu? You hate needles, so should you get that flu vaccine that comes in a nasal spray? Or how about that new kind of vaccine that may also be given without a needle? And will the type of vaccine that’s available during the 2017-2018 flu season be effective against whatever variant of the bug makes an appearance this time around? Fortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OSHA have all of the information you need to protect yourself – and your workplace – from the flu.

Engine failure on an American Airlines plane that resulted in serious injuries to a passenger and substantial damage to the aircraft will be the subject of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) meeting on Jan. 23, 2018. The Boeing 767-300 experienced an uncontained failure of the right engine during the take-off roll at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

A group of 15 non-partisan patient and consumer organizations say the Senate Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed this week “takes yet another step towards undermining the stability of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance markets." The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; American Heart Association and others said; "The repeal of the individual insurance mandate destabilizes an essential pillar of the ACA by removing incentives for young and healthy people to purchase insurance."

Reinforced plastic tarps, commonly called “Blue Roofs,” provide temporary protection for the roofs of homes and other buildings damaged during severe weather such as a hurricane or tornado. However, when employees access roofs to install these tarps, they are at risk of falls, electrocutions, and other hazards. OSHA has issued a new fact sheet containing steps that employers can follow to help keep workers safe.