Counting Workplace Injuries: a National and International Challenge

An excellent WSJ article discusses the federal government's undercounting of workplace injuries. Their analysis of information from the Department of Labor found that while reported workplace injuries had declined substantially from 2000 to 2006, the workplace fatality rate had stayed the same. According to the article, safety experts blame the increased number of undocumented workers and independent contractors for the increase in undercounts.

The developed world often chastises developing countries' governments for undercounting workplace injuries by alarming rates, but it is important to realize the emerging challenges of OSH reporting in the US and other developed economies as their economies also become more globalized and more informal.

As Promised...New Drug-resistant TB on the Rise

XDR, a new drug-resistant form of TB is creating a scare in the U.S. According to this Sunday San Jose Mercury News article, Mexico, China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines are the sources of most new TB-cases in foreign-born people in California. If the number of cases continue to increase, officials say that they may implement quarantine measures not seen in th U.S. in 70 years.

TB Returns to International Stage

Tuberculosis outbreaks, which no longer make headlines in the developed world, are unfortunately making a comeback in the developing world. Diagnosing TB has never been easy due to a significant latency period. According to the Indian newspaper, The Statesman, the Indian government routinely underestimates the number of TB patients. Even officials in the developed world are now being forced to take notice of the growing threat since there has been a series of recent isolated outbreaks in the United States, one in New Mexico and the other in Northern California. In response to growing concern, the San Jose Mercury News is running a major feature on TB this Sunday.