Mi SciELO
Servicios Personalizados
Revista
Articulo
Indicadores
- Citado por SciELO
- Accesos
Links relacionados
- Citado por Google
- Similares en SciELO
- Similares en Google
Compartir
Archivos de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales
versión On-line ISSN 1578-2549
Resumen
RAMADA RODILLA, José María; BELTRAN FONOLLOSA, Ana; SERRA, Consol y BENAVIDES, Fernando G.. Outbreak study of workers with irritative symptoms woking in the microbiology and clinical analysis laboratories of a tertiary public hospital. Arch Prev Riesgos Labor [online]. 2020, vol.23, n.3, pp.330-342. Epub 21-Sep-2020. ISSN 1578-2549. https://dx.doi.org/10.12961/aprl.2020.23.03.03.
Background:
In April 2018, an unusually high number of eye, throat and nose irritative symptoms, nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms and dizziness were identified in workers in the microbiology (LAM) and clinical analysis (LCA) laboratories of a tertiary public hospital in Mallorca; these symptoms were also associated with perception of unusual odors.
Objective:
To confirm the presence of an outbreak, identify its causes, and contribute to its prevention and control.
Methods:
Epidemiological study of the outbreak involving qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative component was based on conducting focus groups The quantitative study allowed us to develop epidemic curves, based on employee visits to the hospital’s occupational health service (OHS) due to either symptoms or episodes of sickness absence (SA). Lastly, available industrial hygiene reports were reviewed to examine possible relationships with the distribution of cases.
Results:
Two operational case definitions were established through the focus groups, along with identification of possible explanations for the outbreak based on employee perception. The quantitative study confirmed the outbreak in the LAM, but not in the LCA. The SA episodes in the LAM between weeks 16 and 39 exceeded the number of expected cases four-fold. We also detected an excess of visits to the OHS during the same time period.
Conclusions:
The quantitative study confirmed an epidemic outbreak that has since ended, although the qualitative study indicated the persistence of bad smell and discomfort. The improvement of epidemiological surveillance systems as a result of the study will facilitate the monitoring and control of future possible outbreaks.
Palabras clave : Outbreak; epidemic outbreak; epidemic curves; irritative symptoms; focus groups.