Resource Articles

Rubella (German Measles) is a highly contagious viral illness with symptoms very similar to rubeola (red measles, commonly referred to simply as "measles") but differs in the severity of symptoms and length of illness. The most serious threat of rubella is to the pregnant female who has never had rubella. If exposed to rubella, she can contract the disease which can cause serious problems for the unborn baby.

Occupational Health provides guidance to supervisors in managing an injured employee.

VUMC faculty and staff born after 1956 are required to be vaccinated against measles unless they have laboratory-proven immunity to measles.

Parvovirus B-19 infection is also known as Fifth Disease. Fifth Disease is usually a mild illness that resolves without medical treatment among children and adults who are otherwise healthy. However, pregnant women who are infected with Parvovirus during early pregnancy have a 5% risk of miscarriage. (Also see article Parvovirus B19 Exposure in Pregnancy.)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires noise in the workplace to be below 90 decibels over an 8 hour shift (a method called time weighted average is used for this measurement).

VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterocci) and MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus) are common in hospitals. Staph is a normal bacteria on human skin and Enterocci are normal bacteria in the human bowel. Patients who have been hospitalized for long periods develop resistant bacteria as a result of exposure to many antibiotics or the hospital environment. In recent years resistant organisms have become very common in the community and patients often bring them into the hospital.

The page will directly link you to the work injury reporting system owned by Risk Management.

It's normal to be concerned about exposure to chemicals while being pregnant. There's an exposure control plan to protect all workers while at work.

Animal users who have asthma or allergic conditions may become sensitive to animal allergens with repeated exposure. Up to 20% of allergic animal users may develop occupational asthma, which can limit the ability to work and may lead to permanent disability. An allergy is the over-reaction response of your immune system to substances in the environment. These substances are called allergens and can cause sneezing, watery and itchy eyes, itchy skin, sinus or nasal congestion or more serious reactions. When we touch or work around animals, we expose our bodies to these allergens.