Dairy Worker Safety
When dairies are quarantined for HPAI it obligates the producer to take additional actions to protect employee health. Producers are required to provide training and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all employees in contact with cattle, their excretions and unpasteurized milk.
Broadly speaking, producers are required to take the following three actions:
1. Schedule training time to explain what HPAI is, how workers can contract the virus from infected cows and the new requirements in place during the duration of the quarantine.
2. Provide free PPE, and training in it’s use to all employees working with cattle or milk in enclosed spaces. Dairy trade organizations advise that faces shields or safety glasses are most accepted by employees. The addition of an N95 mask provides significant additional airway protection.
3. Train employees to recognize the signs of HPAI infection in humans. Impress upon them that they should report such symptoms to management so they can be directed to free diagnosis and treatment in order to protect both themselves and their family. Workers will be sent to clinics that will not inquire about immigration status and by law all medical records remain strictly confidential.
4. Develop a dairy program to address “Zoonotic Aerosol Transmissible Disease Hazards”, either as part of as part of the dairy’s Cal-OSHA IIPP or as a stand-alone document. See here for a fillable template.
CDC’s Information for Farm Workers –
Explains how the virus can spread to people and symptoms in humans. Also explains different types of PPE. Also available in Spanish. This may be the best and only tool you’ll need to train your employees.
HPAI Handbook for Worker Safety
Training – A collaborative effort of
CDQAP, CDPH and Western United
Dairies, the handbook outlines three
HPAI worker training sessions with
accompanying fact sheets and
posters in English & Spanish.
Template for Cal-OSHA “Zoonotic
Aerosol” Disease Plan – This fillable template can be used to fulfill the Cal-OSHA regulation requiring a written plan addressing diseases which can be transmitted through the air from cows to people.
Cal-OSHA Guide on Zoonotic Aerosol Transmissible Disease Hazards
– This exhaustive 46 page guidance explains Cal-OSHA regulations focused on protection of workers from diseases which can be passed from cattle to people through the air.
CDPH Flyer Symptoms of HPAI in Humans - This poster explains how the symptoms of HPAI infection appears in humans.. Also available in Spanish.
CDPH Flyer on Types of PPE – Explains the different types of PPE the producer might choose to employ on the dairy. Also available in Spanish.