Frederic J. Deschamps
University Hospital of Reims, France
Title: Flu vaccination and working population
Biography
Biography: Frederic J. Deschamps
Abstract
Flu is a pandemic infection. The virus is easily transmissible. The risk can be reduced by vaccination. In most workplaces employees with flu continue to work and could contaminate a lot of people including colleagues, customers, and patients. A major problem for workers infected by flu is their general perception of this disease. Today there is still considerable ignorance about risks of contracting this infection. Flu is not confined to certain risk groups. It concerns all the workers belonging to all industrial and commercial sectors. The virus is a contamination problem that can be easily prevented by actions in the workplace. At the beginning, individuals contaminated by flu are asymptomatic for few days. The annual incidence of flu concerning the working population is very high. The professional cost of this disease is significant. Lack of accurate information in workplace is evident. It is important to assess the perception of workers to be at risk of being infected. Few companies have policies relative to flu infection and contamination. Workplace education programs need involvement of all the relevant parties including occupational health professionals, human resources, specialist and other concerned with staff training. The aim is to propose an update concerning the best way to increase protection against flu at work.