Tuberculosis among Health Workers—A Secondary Data Analysis of German Social Accident Insurance Data from 2002–2017

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common cause of fatal infections worldwide. Recent TB figures in Europe indicate that 30 people were infected with tuberculosis each hour in 2017. Healthcare workers are at particular risk of being infected through patient contact. TB is the second most common occupational infectious disease among German healthcare workers. Routine data from the German Social Accident Insurance were used to examine trends in occupational TB diseases. We analyzed annual cross-sectional data for the years 2002 to 2017. The data underwent descriptive analysis. A total of 4653 TB cases were recognized as occupational diseases (OD) in the period under study. In 2002, 60 TB cases were recognized as OD No. 3101, i.e., transmissions from person to person. Since 2013, the level has settled at around 500 recognized cases per year. This is around eight times the number of cases compared to 2002. The following three groups collectively accounted for the largest share of TB cases (88.5%): nurses (including geriatric nurses), other healthcare employees, and physicians. The upward trend in the number of TB cases recognized as occupational diseases is probably due to improvements in diagnostic tests used to diagnose TB infections. TB in health and welfare workers remains an important issue in the health and welfare sector in Germany, partly due to the long latency period between potential exposure to infectious patients or materials and the recognition of the latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) or active TB as OD.

Hand-Arm-Vibrationseinwirkungen durch Einzelstöße im Freizeitbereich/Hand-arm vibration effects from individual impacts in the leisure sector

Hand-Arm-Vibrationseinwirkungen durch Einzelstöße sind ein Phänomen, das aus der Berufswelt bekannt und im Bereich der Hand-Arm-Vibrationen angesiedelt ist. Beispielsweise sind Arbeiten mit schlagenden Geräten wie Bolzensetzern und Druckluftnaglern mit stoßartigen Belastungen des Hand-Arm-Systems verbunden. Auch im Freizeitbereich lassen sich stoßartige Belastungen des Hand-Arm-Systems beobachten. Typische Freizeitaktivitäten, in denen stoßartige Belastungen auf das Hand-Arm-System erfolgen, sind z. B. Tennis, Golf oder Squash. Am Beispiel der Freizeitaktivität Golf untersuchte das Institut für Arbeitsschutz der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung (IFA) die Hand-Arm-Vibrationseinwirkungen durch Einzelstöße im Freizeitbereich.   Single-impact hand-arm vibration is a phenomenon well known in the world of work and in the area of hand-arm vibration. For example, work with beating devices such as bolt makers and pneumatic nailers are associated with shock loads on the hand-arm system. Even in the leisure sector can be observed shock loads of the hand-arm system. Typical recreational activities in which shock loads on the hand-arm system take place, for. As tennis, golf or squash. Using the example of leisure activity Golf, the Institute for Occupational Safety of the German Social Accident Insurance (IFA) examined the hand-arm vibration effects caused by individual impacts in the leisure sector.

Arbeitsunfall 4.0

Digitisation and tertiarisation have made it difficult to categorise activities as private or work-related. The two notions that have traditionally been used to make that distinction – i.e. place of work and working time – are losing their importance. An increasing number of employees are subject to the phenomenon of blurred boundaries: They set their own hours, work from home or on-the-go. German Social Accident Insurance, however, determines the question of coverage on the allocation of the accident to either the work sphere or the private sphere of the aggrieved party. The book explores the extent to which it is necessary to modernise the way risks are allocated in order to not discriminate against those who have jobs outside of traditional parameters and discusses whether it is still adequate to base allocation mechanisms on the principles of the employers’ business risk and duties of care. By way of extensive dogmatic analysis and a comparison with other systems of risk allocation, the study proposes a modern take on allocating risks with just results for both employers and employees from all fields of work.