Bird Flu Workplace Safety and Health

The current multistate outbreak of Avian influenza, or bird flu, is caused by the HPAI A (H5N1) subtype of flu virus and commonly infects wild and domestic birds. The virus is also spreading in other animals, including farm animals like poultry and dairy cows.

Bird flu can infect people, but it's rare. People can become infected with bird flu when they come into contact with infected animals or their byproducts, or if they eat, drink, or inhale droplets or dust containing the virus. More information is available on our Avian Flu (Bird Flu) Fact Sheet.

Find more information below, including what employers must do to protect workers from bird flu.

Prevention

Employers should assess and implement effective engineering and administrative controls to help protect workers from exposure to bird flu. Additionally, workers can be protected by wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when caring for patients with known or suspected H5N1 infection or when working with poultry, dairy cows or other animals that maybe infected or sick. This includes:

  • Coveralls (with optional waterproof apron)
  • N95 NIOSH approved respirator*
  • Safety goggles (with optional face shield over the top)
  • Head cover
  • Boots or boot covers
  • Gloves

Employers should train workers on the use of PPE including:

  • Who needs to wear it
  • What you need to wear
  • When to wear it
  • How to use it
  • The limitations of PPE
  • How to put it on, take it off and proper disposal.

*Before using respirators make sure you have and follow your written Respiratory Protection Program including requirements for selection, medical evaluations, fit-testing, training, maintenance and storage of respirators. See Chapter 296-842 WAC – Safety Standards for Respirators.

In addition to PPE, employers should assess and implement effective controls to protect workers. Health care workers should follow CDC’s transmission-based precautions and guidance for bird flu.

Employers can determine the exposure controls to implement by the specific work task, setting, and exposure such as:

  • Including bird flu exposure hazards in your Accident Prevention Plan (APP).
  • Avoiding unprotected contact with animals or people with known or suspected bird flu when possible.
  • Maintaining distance from items with known or suspected to have contamination with bird flu.
  • Using tools (such as tongs) to avoid direct contact and maintain distance from substances known or suspected to be contaminated with bird flu.
  • Using processes to avoid stirring up waste and other potentially contaminated dirt or dust. This can cause aerosolization, creating particles small and light enough to be carried on the air. If this is unavoidable, implement additional precautions, such as enhanced ventilation (like local exhaust ventilation and no recirculation of the air) and the use of respirators.
  • Ensuring optimal ventilation (for example stay up wind from the hazard, ventilate with as much fresh air as possible with no recirculation of the air).
  • Ensuring adequate access to hand washing facilities. Use alcohol based hand sanitizer when soap and water are unavailable and hands are not visibly dirty. Wash hands with soap and water:
    • After contact with animals or people with known or suspected bird flu;
    • After contact with substances or objects known or suspected to be contaminated with bird flu;
    • When leaving a potentially contaminated area;
    • After removing gloves and other PPE; and
    • Before touching your face (especially eyes, nose, or mouth), eating, drinking, smoking, chewing tobacco, taking medication or applying cosmetics.
  • Cleaning surfaces and disinfect using an EPA registered product effective against bird flu. Protect workers from chemical hazards from these products by implementing appropriate safety precautions.
  • Ensuring employees have been educated and trained in a language and manner that they understand on the bird flu hazards in the workplace and policies and procedures to prevent transmission.
  • Following Department of Health (DOH) recommendations for symptom monitoring and testing.
Requirements & Policies

For workplaces where work-related animal to human bird flu transmission has occurred, animal depopulation, and other bird flu responses are occurring, employers must perform a hazard assessment and follow all other DOSH requirements to ensure their workplaces be safe and free of recognized hazards, including bird flu.

When employees are highly exposed to bird flu:

  • Employers must implement feasible engineering controls such as:
    • Use ventilation systems that provide a constant supply of fresh air;
    • Ensure high velocity airflow onto building occupants does not happen; and
    • Clean and maintain ventilation systems on a regular basis.
  • Employers must implement feasible administrative controls such as:
    • Ensure workers have access to and use handwashing facilities;
    • Communicate with workers to determine if they are sick or have symptoms like conjunctivitis, upper respiratory symptoms, or other symptoms consistent with the flu; and
    • Follow state/local health department instructions for quarantine or isolation of exposed or sick workers.
  • Where appropriate, such as for highly exposed employees, agricultural employers must ensure employees use:
    • Protective clothing;
    • Respiratory devices;
    • Shields;
    • Barriers; and
    • Adequate protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities.
  • Non-agricultural employers must follow the requirements of WAC 296-800-160 through 296-800-16080 (Personal Protective Equipment).

Employers may use Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Interim Guidance for Employers to Reduce Exposure to Novel Influenza A to meet PPE requirements.

When the CDC recommends use of a respirator based on high exposure risk, employers must also require workers to wear a NIOSH-approved respirator and implement a complete respiratory protection program.

L&I’s Consultation Program offers free, confidential, professional advice to help employers meet these safety and health requirements.

Other L&I Rules

Standards and Guidance from others

Reporting & Recording

Report and record workplace related bird flu according to Chapter 296-27 WAC – Recordkeeping and Reporting. Bird flu does not fall under the exclusion for “common cold and flu” in WAC 296-27-01103 (2)(h). See L&I’s Workplace Injuries & Fatalities web page for more information.

Other reporting

  • Cases, suspected cases, or exposure in people report to your local health jurisdiction
  • Sick or dead birds in domestic birds report to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Avian Health program: 1-800-606-3056
  • Increased death or disease in livestock on farms to the State Veterinarian on the Reportable Animal Disease Database and select “unexplained increase in dead or diseased animals.”
Training & Resources

Meeting Workplace Safety & Health Requirements

You can use these materials to meet specific requirements in L&I Safety & Health rules. You can use other materials as well.

Training & Resources

Publications, Handouts, Checklists

Sample Programs

More help from L&I