Occupational Infections

The following table classifies occupational infections into 6 categories:

Contact with Infected Living Animal
Contact with Contaminated Animal Product
Tick, Flea, or Mite Bite
Contact with Human or Animal Waste
Contact with Infected Patient or Blood
Raise Dust Containing the Pathogen

This method of classifying occupational infections is used because it provides the means to link diseases and occupations in the Haz-Map database. More information about each occupational infection can be found at the web pages listed at the end of each section.

Table 1. Contact with Infected Living Animal

Occupations	Contact with Infected Living Animal	Diseases
Animal breeder Animal caretaker Animal scientist Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Lab animal worker Veterinarian	Handle infected domestic animals (inhalation or percutaneous exposure)	Anthrax Brucellosis ^*Hendra & Nipah viral diseases Influenza Leptospirosis Plague Q fever Vesicular stomatitis fever
Animal breeder Animal caretaker Animal scientist Lab animal worker Poultry farmer Poultry handler Veterinarian	Handle infected chickens or birds	Campylobacter enteritis Influenza Psittacosis Salmonellosis
Animal breeder Animal caretaker Animal scientist Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Lab animal worker Veterinarian	Bite or scratch by infected dog or cat	Brucellosis Capnocytophaga infection Cat scratch fever Pasteurellosis Plague Rabies Tularemia
Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Game warden Hunter & Trapper Veterinarian Wildlife biologist	Bite by skunk, raccoon, bat, fox, or other carnivore	Rabies
Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Game warden Hunter & Trapper Veterinarian Wildlife biologist	Bite by rodents	^*Monkeypox Plague Rat bite fever
Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Game warden Hunter & Trapper Veterinarian Wildlife biologist	Handle infected rodents (inhalation or percutaneous exposure)	^Arenaviral infection Hantavirus infection ^Lassa fever Leptospirosis Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) ^Monkeypox ^Omsk hemorrhagic fever Plague
Lab animal worker Veterinarian	Handle infected laboratory rats	Hantavirus infection LCM Rat bite fever
Lab animal worker Veterinarian	Handle infected macaque monkeys	B-virus infection
CDC - Brucellosis CDC - Protecting Poultry Workers from Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) CDC - Hendra viral disease CDC - Leptospirosis MMWR - Q Fever Outbreak -- Germany, 1996 MMWR - Q Fever among Slaughterhouse Workers -- California Merck Veterinary Manual - Overview of Vesicular Stomatitis CCOHS - Psittacosis Merck Manual - Human and Mammal Bites CDC - Plague CDC - Rabies: General Information Medscape - Tularemia -- United States, 1990-2000 CDC - Monkeypox MMWR - Rat-Bite Fever -- New Mexico, 1996 CDC - Arenaviruses CDC - Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome CCOHS - Hantavirus CDC - Lassa Fever CDC - Lymphocytic choriomeningitis CDC - B Virus CDC - Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever

Table 2. Contact with Contaminated Animal Product

Occupations	Contact with Contaminated Animal Product	Diseases
Animal breeder Animal caretaker Animal scientist Butcher Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Hunter & Trapper Lab animal worker Meat packer Slaughterer Veterinarian	Handle infected animal carcasses or placental tissues	Anthrax Brucellosis ^Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever ^Glanders ^Hendra & Nipah viral Leptospirosis Plague Psittacosis Q fever ^Rift valley fever Strept. suis infection Tularemia
Grader & Sorter Freight handler Packer	Handle raw goat hair, wool or hides from endemic area	Anthrax
DermIS - Anthrax (photos) CDC - Infection Control for Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers PubMed - Streptococcus suis: an emerging human pathogen. CDC - Rift Valley Fever

Table 3. Tick, Flea, or Mite Bite

Occupations	Tick, Flea, or Mite Bite	Diseases
Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Forester Groundskeeper Highway maintenance Hunter & Trapper Landscaper Logging worker Rail track maintenance	Work in tick infested area in North America	Babesiosis Colorado tick fever Ehrlichiosis Lyme disease Powassan virus encephalitis Relapsing fever Rocky mountain spotted fever STARI Tick paralysis Tularemia
Building cleaning worker Pest control worker	Work in building infested with fleas or mites of rodents	Murine typhus Plague Rickettsialpox
Hunter & Trapper Laborer	Work in mite infested area of central, eastern or Southeast Asia	^*Scrub typhus
DPDx - Babesiosis Medscape - Tick-Borne Diseases, Colorado CDC - Learn about Lyme Disease CDC - Tick-borne Encephalitis Merck Manual - Relapsing fever CDC - Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever CDC - STARI PubMed - Tick paralysis: 33 human cases in Washington State, 1946-1996 Merck Manual - Murine (Endemic) Typhus Merck Manual - Rickettsialpox Merck Manual - Scrub Typhus

Table 4. Contact with Human or Animal Waste

Occupations	Contact with Human or Animal Waste	Diseases
Child care worker Lab animal worker Veterinarian	Care for children or primates infected with hepatitis A	Hepatitis A
Farmworker Farmer & Rancher Sewer worker	Work or swim in contaminated water (percutaneous exposure)	Leptospirosis ^Melioidosis ^Schistosomiasis
Animal handler (cattle) Child care worker	Care for children or animals infected with cryptosporidiosis	Cryptosporidiosis
Animal breeder Animal caretaker Animal scientist Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Lab animal worker Veterinarian	Have dog or cat contact (fecal-oral)	Campylobacter enteritis Echinococcosis Hymenolepsis nana infection Salmonellosis Strongyloidiasis Yersinosis
CDC - Hepatitis A CDC - Leptospirosis DPDx - Schistosomiasis DPDx - Cryptosporidiosis CDC - Alveolar Hydatid Disease (Echinococcosis)

Table 5. Contact with Infected Patient or Blood

Occupations	Contact with Infected Patient or Blood	Diseases
Dental worker Embalmer Healthcare worker	Handle contaminated needles or surgical instruments	AIDS ^Arenavirus infection ^Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever ^Ebola-Marburg Hepatitis B Hepatitis C West Nile virus infection ^Lassa fever
Healthcare worker	Care for sick patients (droplet/airborne pathogens)	Adenovirus ^Arenavirus infection Coronavirus infection ^Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever Diphtheria ^Ebola-Marburg Influenza ^Lassa fever Measles Meningococcus Monkeypox Mumps Mycoplasma infection Parvorvirus Pertussis RSV infection Rubella Strept. Group A infection Tuberculosis Varicella
Healthcare worker	Care for sick patients (bloodborne pathogens)	AIDS ^Arenavirus infection ^Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever ^Ebola-Marburg Hepatitis B Hepatitis C ^Lassa fever West Nile virus infection
CDC - Healthcare-Associated Infections CDC - Guidelines for Infection Control in Health Care Personnel, 1998 OSHA - Needlestick Injuries CDC - Needlestick Guidelines CDC - Hepatitis B CDC - Hepatitis C WHO - Haemorrhagic Fevers CDC - Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers CDC - Coronavirus Infections OSHA - Tuberculosis CDC - Tuberculosis CDC - Influenza Prevention and Control

Table 6. Raise Dust Containing the Pathogen

Occupations	Raise Dust Containing the Pathogen	Diseases
Building cleaning worker Construction worker Dockworker Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Game warden Granary worker Groundskeeper Heating & AC worker Hunter & Trapper Pest control worker Repair worker Wildlife biologist	Raise dust of excreta from rodents	^Arenaviral infection Hantavirus infection ^Lassa fever Leptospirosis Lymphocytic choriomeningitis Rat bite fever
Bridge painter Construction worker Demolition worker Farmer & Rancher Farmworker Gardener Heating & AC worker Roofer	Raise dust from bird roosts, chicken coops or bat-inhabited caves in endemic area	Histoplasmosis
Archeologist Demolition worker Farmer & Rancher Hunter & Trapper Farmworker	Plow, dig or excavate soil in endemic area	Blastomycosis Coccidioidomycosis Histoplasmosis ^*Paracoccidioidomycosis
CDC - Blastomycosis NIOSH - Histoplasmosis CDC - Histoplasmosis CDC - Coccidioidomycosis

^*These occupational infections are not endemic to North America, but may be imported or result from medical research laboratory accidents.

References: Control of Communicable Diseases Manual; "Occupational Infections" in Rom; "Occupational Infections" in LaDou; p. 280-281 in Marks;

See the PubMed abstracts on occupational infections.

Revised May 30, 2018