OSHA Advises Business Travelers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued its first safety and health bulletin advising business travelers of health risks abroad.

The bulletin lists precautions to take when visiting developing countries, as well as warnings for those traveling to other destinations. Travelers' can access these on OSHA's Web site by visiting osha.gov/dts/tib and selecting "Safety and Health During International Travel" in the "2002" column.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, there has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of U.S. residents visiting countries where they are at risk for contracting infectious diseases. In 1998, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 59 percent of such travelers had not taken any preventive medication, and 13 percent had been prescribed a drug not recommended for the area to which they were traveling.

To combat the failure of travelers to receive preventive medication-resulting in unnecessary illness, medical expense and the potential spread of contagious diseases within travelers' local communities-OSHA refers readers to two other sources: Health Information for International Travel, www.cdc.gov/travel; and the U.S. Department of State's Web site, travel.state.gov, which offers a Consular Information Sheet for every country, Public Announcements, Travel Warnings and Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad.