Health surveillance

The University of Barcelona must guarantee adequate and specific surveillance of the health of its employees in relation to the prevention of the risks associated with the activities they carry out, and in this case, specifically, with exposure to biological agents, in accordance with the following objectives set out in the regulations:

  • the assessment of the health status of teaching and/or research staff;
  • verification of immune status and vaccination according to risk;
  • the identification of health conditions and situations that may involve special sensitivity;
  • and participation in the awareness-raising, information and training programme.
Doctor working

In order to achieve these objectives, the following measures are carried out:

  1. Health tests. These tests are a fundamental part of health monitoring and are carried out at the University Medical Service. Although health surveillance is generally voluntary, it is advisable to carry out health examinations periodically. It is highly recommended that workers in animal experimentation units and biohazard level 2 laboratories and research areas, as well as particularly sensitive people, such as pregnant workers, breastfeeding mothers and immunocompromised people, request the health examination.
  2. Collection of data on risk factors and health. Actions aimed at the continuous and careful management of biological risk to ensure compliance with the health and safety measures established by regulations, and the involvement of the entire hierarchical line of the university following the functions and responsibilities in research are of vital importance. This process includes the evaluation of the biological risk, the supervision of the effectiveness of existing control measures, the identification of possible areas for improvement and the implementation of the necessary corrective actions. It is advisable, from a medical point of view, that the research personnel request a health examination, particularly for people with health conditions or temporary or permanent situations that may imply a greater susceptibility to biological agents, to ensure that they are fit to carry out the proposed tasks. In some cases it is necessary to carry out an individual risk assessment to determine whether the working conditions are appropriate to the person’s biological and health status, and to consider a possible change of functions or work location. This ensures the protection and well-being of all workers, adapting working conditions to the individual and guaranteeing a safe working environment.
  3. Vaccination program. In certain types of activities with biological agents, immunization of research personnel is recommended. There is a vaccination program for workers who may be exposed to potentially hazardous biological agents. This program complies with the recommendations and requirements of the competent health authorities and guarantees the availability of the necessary vaccines for the protection of personnel. First, a medical visit is made to assess the need for vaccination and, if the need is determined, the relevant vaccine is administered.
    The following vaccinations are administered at the UB Medical Service: Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus, diphtheria and influenza (public health campaign).
  4. Health follow-up in case of accident or suspected exposure. The aim in this case is the early detection of damage related to exposure to biological agents through the presence of symptoms or signs that may be related to the action of biological agents. Especially, in those situations in which it is known that there has been an accidental exposure, such as, for example, accidental contact with biological fluids that could be contaminated.
  5. Information and training of research staff. It is an essential objective to inform and train research staff, with special emphasis on those symptoms or signs of suspicion that should be reported to the health professionals of the prevention service, as well as those health conditions or states that condition a greater susceptibility, including lack of immunity, and the importance of vaccinations. In any case, it is extremely important to know the procedure to follow in the case of an accident/work incident with biological risk.

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