Corporate infection control measures in an internationalized society

Abstract

 Globalization has led to the need for implementation of new infection control measures among corporate employees.
 First among them are measures dealing with the recent rapid increase in employees working overseas. This employee group has a high risk of bringing food- and mosquito-borne infectious diseases with them upon their return, necessitating the implementation of measures including predeparture vaccinations and education regarding disease prophylaxis, as well as early diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases once the employees have returned home.
 Second among them are measures involving foreign employees who are employed domestically in Japan. There have been many recent reports of cases where an onset of infection has occurred after their arrival in Japan. Along with screening for infection during health checks performed at the time of hiring, it is crucial that symptoms that emerge once employment has commenced are rapidly examined and disease diagnoses be made.
 Finally, measures that must be taken against avian influenza because there is a fear of a global epidemic. The likelihood of the underlying H5N1 virus infection spreading as a highly pathogenic pandemic influenza is high. Therefore, companies must create workplace measures to deal with such an epidemic. Analysis of experiences during the novel influenza epidemic of 2009 should be useful for this purpose.