Contagious Diseases

Living with others in a camp environment we are at significant risk of spreading contagious diseases. In fact, many of the significant impacts of modern medicine include recognizing how viral and bacterial organisms spread from human to human and limiting these pathways. We take it for granted today, but not long ago the concept of sewer systems, clean water and hand washing were not understood or utilized. As we learned from COVID19, good preventative measures, early detection, and isolation are key to decreasing the spread of any contagious disease.

Common contagious diseases include influenza (flu), viral upper respiratory tract infections, COVID19, strep throat and gastrointestinal illnesses.

Spread can be decreased by these preventative measures:

• Good hand washing and hygiene
• Eating, sleeping, and living in smaller groups
• Good rest, nutrition, and hydration
• Isolating yourself if you become ill early on and get medically evaluated
• Keeping food and water sources away from waste and sewer systems

If you or your crewmembers start to notice signs and symptoms of a contagious disease, make sure to advise your supervisor and take steps to isolate. Consider isolating the entire crew in the work environment as much as possible, even when others are still feeling well. Utilize spike camps and remote briefings when available.

If a medical unit is available, consider an initial evaluation. This will help track illness throughout the camp. This is especially important for gastrointestinal illnesses because use of common food, toilet and water areas can easily infect the entire camp quickly and must be identified early.

We all protect each other – if you are feeling ill, it is better to seek an evaluation and isolate until improved than risk infecting your crew and putting other individuals and the mission or even incident at risk.

Discussion Questions:

• What steps does your crew take when someone develops cold-like symptoms?
• How can your crew isolate from a larger camp if several members are sick and still have the healthy members continue to work?
• Does your crew consider contagious disease a workplace hazard? Does the crew culture around illness need to change?