Lecture 5: Occupational Disease What are occupational diseases? · Skin disorders · Viral, bateriological infections ? Hepatitis, HIV · Respiratory disorders o Dust, smoke, chemicals, airborne pollution · Cancers ? Carcinogens, radiation, asbestos, environmental factors · Nerve and heart disorders · Malfunction/deterioration of organs and body functions through toxic accumulation or progressive exposure to harmful physical agent (hearing, sight) · Lead and dementia o Vibration & hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS or vibration white finger) Developing an occupational disease . Hazardous substances can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin or may cause organ disease ? Poisoning, irritation, chemical burns, sensitisation, cancer, birth defects · May take minutes or years to develop (short v. long latency) ? Single, recurrent or chronic exposure o Exposure maybe invisible ? Many have long gestation periods so slow onset but degenerative, irreversible or untreatable · Minor exposure can cause serious disease ? Asbestos-related diseases, silicosis · Tissue damage at site or another location o Inhalation of dust damages the lungs Challenges in detecting/measuring occupational disease . Changes to body function may not be obvious · Cause and effect often not clear o Not always easy to identify as work related · Degrees to which disease is work related: solely, combination of occupational and non-occupational, aggravated by work, inhibit ability to work. ? Maybe difficult to isolate cause o Other factors both occupational and non-occupational · Overlap between disease and injury o Disease contracted as a consequence of injury o Needlestick to hepatitis ? Acute compared to cumulative ? Back injury/joint degeneration, cochlear damage from single exposure/long term exposure Extent and Incidence · Under reporting - skewed statistics o What is recognised as a work related disease and deaths from a work related
disease o Qantas $1 mil. chromium/lung cancer settlement (2007) o International agency for research on cancer (IARC) has reclassified diesel Case study: the Hendra virus A zoonotic disease and a biosecurity risk 1994 - 1st case in Queensland, named Hendra after the suburb where it was first detected. Transmission: flying foxes (bats) - horses - humans " Australian Story: "All the pretty horses" (2009) the story of veterinarian Ben Cunneen and vet nurse Natalie Beohm. · View at: https://search-informit- org.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/doi/10.3316/TVNEWS.TEX20092000706 " or search by title in the Library " Of 7 known cases, 4 human deaths 2012: vaccine for horses released by CSIRO 2021: ABC News online, 'Vets urge horses, owners to get Hendra virus vaccine as new strain identified', 11 March 2021 [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-11/new- hendra-virus-strain-discovered-in-horses-and-bats/13235488] University of Queensland research: https://phys.org/news/2021-07-faster-diagnosis-deadly- hendra-virus.html Occupational Disease Priorities The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022 (the Australian Strategy) identified six disease categories to address the priority of reducing occupational disease. Priority disorders in the strategy for 2012-2017: 1. Musculoskeletal disorders 2. Mental disorders 3. Noise-induced hearing loss 4. Asthma (respiratory disease) 5. Contact dermatitis 6. Cancers (including skin cancer) Priority disorders in the strategy for 2017-2022: The priority work-related conditions are: 1. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) 2. Mental health conditions 3. Cancers (including skin cancer and asbestos-related