What is diphtheria? Is the company required to organize diphtheria testing for employees?

1. What is diphtheria? Is the company required to organize diphtheria testing for employees?
1.1. What is diphtheria?
Diphtheria (English name is Diphtheria) is a dangerous infection caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae. This is an acute infection that causes the appearance of a thick, ivory-white pseudomembrane that adheres tightly and spreads quickly, covering the entire nasopharynx, nose, tonsil glands, and larynx. The disease can appear in the skin, other mucous membranes such as the conjunctiva of the eyes or the genitals and has the ability to spread rapidly and form an epidemic.

1.2. Is the company required to organize diphtheria testing for employees?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 21 of the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Health, every year, employers must organize health examinations at least once for employees; For workers doing heavy, toxic, dangerous or particularly heavy, toxic, dangerous occupations, jobs, disabled workers, minor workers, and elderly workers, health check-ups are provided at least once every 6 months.

According to the above regulations, every year the company must organize a health check-up at least once for employees, and for employees who do heavy and hazardous work, at least twice a year. Therefore, there are no regulations for organizing diphtheria testing for employees, so the company is not required to organize testing for employees for this disease. However, in the current situation where diphtheria is being detected and there are signs of spread, the company can organize testing for diphtheria to ensure the health safety of employees.

2. Responsibilities of employers in ensuring occupational safety and hygiene in the workplace

Pursuant to Article 16 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health 2015, in ensuring occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace, employers have the following responsibilities:

– Ensure that the workplace must meet the requirements for space, ventilation, dust, vapor, toxic gases, radiation, electromagnetic fields, heat, humidity, noise, vibration, other dangerous and harmful factors specified in relevant technical regulations and periodically check and measure those factors; Ensure there are enough showers and appropriate toilets at the workplace according to regulations of the Minister of Health.

– Ensure that machinery, equipment, supplies and substances are used, operated, maintained and stored in the workplace according to technical regulations on occupational safety and hygiene, or meet technical standards on occupational safety and hygiene that have been announced and applied and according to internal rules and procedures to ensure occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace.

– Fully provide workers with personal protective equipment when performing work with dangerous or harmful factors; Equip safety and occupational hygiene equipment at the workplace.

– Annually or when necessary, organize inspection and assessment of dangerous and harmful factors in the workplace to carry out technological and technical measures to eliminate and minimize dangerous and harmful factors in the workplace, improve working conditions and take care of the health of workers.

– Periodically inspect and maintain machines, equipment, supplies, materials, factories, and warehouses.

– There must be warning signs and instructions in Vietnamese and common languages ​​of workers on safety and occupational hygiene for machines, equipment, supplies and substances with strict requirements on occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace, places of storage, preservation and use, and placed in an easy-to-read and visible location.

– Propagate, disseminate or train workers on regulations, rules and procedures on occupational safety and hygiene, measures to prevent and control dangerous and harmful factors in the workplace related to assigned work and tasks.

– Develop and promulgate plans for incident handling and emergency response at the workplace; Organize incident handling, emergency response, response forces and promptly report to responsible persons when detecting risks or when occupational accidents or technical incidents occur that cause unsafety and occupational hygiene in the workplace beyond the employer’s control.