This is a message from the Occupational Health Branch of the California Department of Health Services.  Please help us alert California workers, unions, employers and health professionals about the special risk to outdoor workers from West Nile Virus by posting the following message on your website and including it in your newsletters and other correspondence.  Let’s make sure that California workers are protected!  Thank you for your help.

 Health Alert -- Outdoor Workers at Risk for
West Nile Virus

Just One Bite!  That's right - just one mosquito bite is enough to give you West Nile Virus, a potentially serious and even fatal infection.  Adults over 50 are at highest risk, but anyone can be infected.  Most infections happen in August and September, and the virus has spread throughout California this year.  Outdoor workers, including farm workers, foresters, groundskeepers, construction workers and others are at risk of West Nile Virus, especially if they are working outdoors when mosquitoes are most actively biting, at dusk and dawn.  Employers should reduce the risk by removing standing water, and workers should wear long sleeves and long pants or use an insect repellent containing DEET when working outdoors.  Remember: Always report any health condition that may be related to your job to your doctor and to your employer.

 Check the sites listed below for more information

·     Recommendations to Protect Outdoor Workers from West Nile Virus (NIOSH) http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/westnile/recout.html

·     Information on West Nile Virus in California   http://westnile.ca.gov

·     General information on West Nile Virus (Centers for Disease Control) http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm

 Barbara Materna, CIH, PhD

Chief, Occupational Health Branch

California Department of Health Services

1515 Clay St., Suite 1901

Oakland, CA 94612