Overview

Under the OSH Act, employers have the responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace and must take steps to address occupational safety and health hazards. Respiratory viruses can cause significant illnesses, and there are many measures that employers can take to address risks associated with workplace exposure to respiratory illnesses.

The information provided here is designed to help identify respiratory viruses' symptoms, modes of transmission, prevention and mitigation strategies that employers can implement to protect workers from severe illness, and provisions of the OSH Act that are relevant to respiratory illnesses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information about respiratory viruses including symptoms, testing, treatment, and what to do if you are exposed.

Respiratory viruses cause illnesses that can affect both the upper (nose, sinuses, throat, middle ear) and lower (bronchioles, lungs) respiratory systems. Illnesses caused by viruses that circulate year-round and which do not cause lower respiratory symptoms are typically referred to as the “common cold” and resolve in one to two weeks and rarely result in serious illness.

Vaccines have been developed against certain circulating respiratory viruses that have the potential to cause serious illness. These include the Influenza A and B viruses, SARS-CoV-2, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Healthcare workers have an increased risk of occupational exposure to influenza, COVID-19, RSV and many other infectious diseases. CDC and others making recommendations for protection from infectious diseases typically provide separate or additional precautions to healthcare workers to prevent workplace transmission. Because some of the occupational risks are heightened or unique to healthcare, the guidance in this document may represent only a baseline of actions for healthcare workers and additional protections may be necessary for those workers. For more information, see the CDC's Healthcare Workers Infection Control website, along with its Infection Control Guidance: Respiratory Viruses and Preventing Transmission of Viral Respiratory Pathogens in Healthcare Settings.