Hepatitis C in the Plant

Sunny

Hi All -

Help! I could really use some expertise on this. I think I have an idea of how to proceed but those above me think differently. We have a plant employee who told his supervisor yesterday that he has Hep C (from getting a tattoo) and that his wife is also infected. My corporate VP-HR wants to hustle him out of the plant. The guy's 1-year anniversary (for FMLA and STD) is 7/16. They are talking about granting him FMLA early (in the hope, I guess, that he'll use his 12 weeks and be gone). I think we need to be careful and follow all our policies, being mindful of ADA issues as well as FMLA issues. I also think we can't make him stop working if his doctor doesn't advise it. Our Co. doctor here says the only risk is through blood contamination. We have done BBP training and have our ducks in a row should there be an accident involving him bleeding. I also think we may have to address his co-worker's fears since he has told other people beside his supervisor.

I just don't think we should panic and I don't think we can try to get rid of him because he might bleed on someone one day.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this.

deniseE

It would probably not comfort you to know how many people are infected with some kind of hepititis and don't even know it!!!

Typically, this should not impact his ability to perform his job safely. You may want to check with your local health department to see if it provides guidelines for different vocations with such illnesses. That may give you the information you need to ease the minds of the supervisors and staff.

The good news is that this cannot be spread by breathing, sneezing, sharing a jug of water...blood to blood contact is required. Unfortunately, the guy that did the tatoo did not properly clean his equipment.

TN HR

I would not necessarily panic nor would I treat him differently than any other employee. Hep C is a lot more prevalent than people think and he may not be the only one in the plant who carries it.

On a side note, unless the tattoo was prison or home-made, the chances that he contracted Hep C from this is slim-to-none given that tattoo studios nowadays utilize single-use equipment and supplies (including ink containers/supplies which all but eliminates cross contamination). I would suspect there's some sharing of needles going on alright and I don't mean the inking kind. This could be a signal of extra-curricular activities going on in your plant. Now, having said that, a Hep C outbreak within your facility/workforce WOULD be something to worry about.

The CDC has a lot of useful information on Hep C which you can use to educate yourself and your managers/supervisors as well as anyone else who may be interested in learning more. Of course, it goes without saying that this a private matter for the ee concerned and you should treat it as PHI.

Good luck!

Gene

Superlative

Gene, your response assumes that this guy has contracted the HCV recently. At age 45 I was diagnosed with HCV. The stage of my liver damage and my life activities (which never included needle sharing)seemed to indicate that I had been infected since age 19. I never even knew I had it!

Since age 19 I have gotten married and borne 2 children -- none of them have contracted it, even though I didn't even know to be careful.

I underwent the treatment and it was rough, but now the virus is undetectable for me. I should point out that my results were rare and incredibly lucky.

My advice to you, Sunny, is just to let this play itself out. If your employee can't tolerate the treatment (which is a form of chemotherapy) he will soon be so sick it will be clear to all that he can't work. Or maybe he won't do the treatment at all and will take decades to be sick from liver damage. Or he could be like me -- I never missed a day of work.

Pork

HIPAA IS A BIG CONCERN: who has told, who what, and how has the company attempted to control the information such that it is not a matter of discussion beyond the immediate management staff.

Like others have already expressed, your BBP training prepares your company for positive action when personal blood of the ee is evident and free of his/her body, containment and dispose of the HAZ-WASTE is the is the proper response.

Once you find out who has been told, you might consider offering those ee that work with and around the ee the vaccination series as a precaution at company expense, which could help prevent others in the work force from taking the risk of being splattered at the same time that the HIV-C ee is injured and coming down with now a W/C situation. These monies would be well spent for a few to prevent a potential financial risk. It is the same vaccine that is offered to the "First Responder Team members". Once educated on the HIV-C situation, only two (2) have taken the series and we have trained and re-trained well over 45 ees over the last 5 years.

Education of the management staff seems to be an immediate need for your company! Along with HIPAA, education of the immediate staff and anyone else who would like to undergo the training would be an appropriate action on the part of the company. Running off and terminating this unfortunate ee is the wrong course of action and could be very costly in a discrimnation litigate action!

Keep us posted on the reaction of your senior leadership!

PORK