Surveillance of work-related infectious diseases in the Netherlands 2009
As commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb) of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has analysed the two systems currently used for the registration of infectious diseases in the Netherlands – namely, the registration system for notifiable infectious diseases (Osiris) and the system for the registration of occupational diseases used by the Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases (NCvB).
Osiris and the NCvB’s registration of occupational diseases are the only registration systems that provide information on work-related infectious diseases in the Netherlands. Osiris registers only notifiable infectious diseases, while entries in the NCvB register comprise occupational diseases reported by occupational physicians. What is evident from these two systems is that there are few notifications that match over both systems. This means that when the data from both systems is combined, there is a more complete picture of work-related infectious diseases that are contracted in the work environment.
Due to the small number of notifications and the under-reporting in both registration systems, no statistically reliable statements can be made regarding the number of employees who contract an infectious disease whilst they are at work. Analysing the data does, however, provide valuable information on the occurrence of infectious diseases in the working environment and the kinds of tasks being carried out when exposure occurs.
Each year approximately 80 work-related cases are registered in Osiris; this is 1.2% of the total number of notifications (from the average of 6,500 registrations per year). The most commonly occurring notifiable infectious diseases contracted whilst people are at work are malaria, hepatitis B, shigella, hepatitis and Legionnaires' disease. According to Osiris data, a little more than half of the reported work-related infectious diseases were contracted during a business trip abroad. This is followed by health care, veterinary medicine and education as those sectors where the most work related infectious diseases occur. For one quarter of the patients who have contracted an infectious disease whilst at work, the professional branch in which they are working is not known. In August 2009, Osiris was revised and some extra questions were added to the system. This revision should enable data on the profession, type of work and the professional sector of patients to be analysed in the future.
The registration office of the NCvB registers an average of 5,500 to 6,000 cases per year. From this total, about 125 (2.3%) notifications concern work-related infectious diseases. The most common infectious diseases registered at the NCvB are intestinal infections, skin infections, other infectious diseases (in particular MRSA), tuberculosis or a positive Mantoux test and zoonoses – particularly Lyme disease). Half of the infectious diseases reported to the NCvB have been contracted whilst people were working in the health care sector. These notifications are mainly related to intestinal infections, skin infections, and tuberculosis or a positive Mantoux test.
