6/7/2018 Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts outdoor workers at risk: CDC | 2018-05-16 | Safety+Health Magazine

Home (/)
» Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts outdoor workers at risk: CDC
Federal agencies (/topics/751-federal-agencies)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (/topics/820-agriculture-forestry-and-fishing)
Workplace exposures (/topics/938-workplace-exposures)

Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts

outdoor workers at risk: CDC
May 16, 2018

No Comments (http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-
borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc#comments-container)
(/articles/print/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc)
Reprints (-1)

Disease (/keywords/1572-disease)
Outdoor workers (/keywords/230-outdoor-workers)

http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc 1/6
6/7/2018 Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts outdoor workers at risk: CDC | 2018-05-16 | Safety+Health Magazine

Photo: andriano_cz/iStockphoto
Atlanta — Disease cases stemming from mosquito, tick and flea bites more than tripled
from 2004 to 2016 in the United States, and outdoor workers remain among those at risk,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states in a
new report (https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/pdf/vs-0518-vector-borne-H.pdf)
.

According to CDC, cases of domestic disease such as

dengue (https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/index.html)
,
Zika (https://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html)
,
Lyme (https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html)
and
plague (https://www.cdc.gov/plague/index.html)
totaled more than 640,000 in that time period. The agency identifies state and local health
departments and vector control organizations as the primary defense, but notes that 84
percent of such organizations lack one or more of
http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc 2/6
 five core competencies (https://www.naccho.org/uploads/downloadable-
6/7/2018 Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts outdoor workers at risk: CDC | 2018-05-16 | Safety+Health Magazine

resources/Mosquito-control-in-the-U.S.-Report.pdf)
:

Routine mosquito surveillance via standardized trapping and species identification.

Treatment decisions devised from surveillance data.
Killing mosquitoes and ticks at every life stage.
Routine vector control activities, including source reduction or environmental
management.
Pesticide resistance testing.

The risk for developing insect-borne diseases increases as commerce moves insects to
different areas of the country and worldwide, the report states. Mosquitoes and ticks can
transport germs, while infected travelers can introduce and spread them.

Symptoms of insect-borne disease include body, muscle and joint pain; fever; rash;
headaches; stiff neck; fatigue; and paralysis.

CDC offers tips to prevent insect stings and bites. Among them:

Wear clean, light-colored clothing that covers as much of the body as possible.
Bathe daily while avoiding cologne, perfume and perfumed soaps, shampoos and
deodorants.
Maintain clean work areas.
Remain calm around flying insects, as swatting may prompt them to sting.
Perform daily skin and clothing checks for ticks, which tend to populate worksites
near woods, bushes, high grass or leaf litter.
Use insect repellent with 20 percent to 50 percent DEET on exposed skin and
clothing, reapplying as necessary.

The report was published in the May edition of

Vital Signs
.

http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc 3/6
6/7/2018 Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts outdoor workers at risk: CDC | 2018-05-16 | Safety+Health Magazine

Related Articles

BLS data shows insects pose deadly risk for

some workers
(http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/
articles/10934-bls-data-shows-insects-
pose-deadly-risk-for-some-workers)
Surgeon General offers tips on protecting
outdoor workers from the sun
(http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/
articles/10979-surgeon-general-offers-tips-
on-protecting-outdoor-workers-from-the-
sun)
NIOSH, OSHA update heat safety app for
outdoor workers
(http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/
articles/15795-niosh-osha-update-heat-
safety-app-for-outdoor-workers)
http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc 4/6
 As weather heats up, OSHA campaign aims
6/7/2018 Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts outdoor workers at risk: CDC | 2018-05-16 | Safety+Health Magazine

to keep outdoor workers safe

(http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/
articles/15879-as-weather-heats-up-osha-
campaign-aims-to-keep-outdoor-workers-
safe)
Gene increases risk of developing
Parkinson’s from pesticide exposure: study
(http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/
articles/9941-gene-increases-risk-of-
developing-parkinsons-from-pesticide-
exposure-study)
Post a comment to this article
Safety+Health
welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain
personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services –
will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy.
(Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address
is required but will not be included with your comment.)

Name

Name

Email
(will not be displayed)
*

Email

Title

Title
http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc 5/6
6/7/2018 Steep rise in insect-borne illnesses puts outdoor workers at risk: CDC | 2018-05-16 | Safety+Health Magazine

Comment
*

Please Enter Your Comment

Submit
CANCEL

function initReportAbusiveCommentForm () { $("#report-abusive-comment-form").overlay({ top:

'center', expose: { color: '#000', loadSpeed: 200, opacity: 0.6 }, closeOnClick: true }); $("#comment-
list").delegate (".modalInput", "click", function(e) { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation();
$("#comment_flag_form").attr ("action", "/comments/flag/article/" + e.target.href.split (/\#id=/)[1]);
$("#report-abusive-comment-form").overlay().load(); }); } $(document).ready( function () { if
(window.customInitReportAbusiveCommentForm) {
window.customInitReportAbusiveCommentForm (); } else { initReportAbusiveCommentForm (); } }
);

http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/16991-steep-rise-in-insect-borne-illnesses-puts-outdoor-workers-at-risk-cdc 6/6