Original Articles
20 February 2025
Vol. 40 No. 4 (2018)
https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.541

[Biological risk in agricultural and construction workers: perception, knowledge and prevention measures]

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Authors

Manuela Tamburro
Dipartimento di Medicina e Scienze per la Salute “Vincenzo Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, Campobasso, Italy.
Vincenza Anzelmo
Istituto di Sanità Pubblica - Sezione di Medicina del Lavoro, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Paolo Bianco
Servizio Sanitario Aziendale Rai - Radiotelevisione Italiana Spa, Roma, Italy.
Michela Lucia Sammarco
Dipartimento di Medicina e Scienze per la Salute “Vincenzo Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, Campobasso, Italy.
Giancarlo Ripabelli
ripab@unimol.it
Dipartimento di Medicina e Scienze per la Salute “Vincenzo Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, Campobasso, Italy.

Background: Despite the potential presence in many workplaces, biological risk is little known and largely underestimated, except in healthcare environments. Objectives: To evaluate perception, knowledge and behaviors adopted for protection and prevention of biological risk, related 96 also to the occupational activity, among construction and agricultural workers.
Methods: Workers were recruited at farms and construction companies of Molise Region, Central Italy, which were visited within the surveillance activities planned by local institutions. A questionnaire was administered to workers to collect sociodemographic and occupational data, and concerning risk perception and knowledge, and awareness of available prevention measures, also related to the work activity.
Results: A total of 143 workers (73.4% males, 42.9$10.7 years old) were interviewed, and 56.6% were construction workers. Only 24% of workers believed that infectious diseases could be frequent and health threatening in carrying out the work activities; half of them declared to be exposed to biological hazards, but 70% were unworried. An underestimation of the severity of some pathologies, such as listeriosis, leptospirosis and viral hepatitis emerged, and only 70% of workers believed that tetanus is highly or very highly dangerous for health. Furthermore, 33% of workers said to have scarce or insufficient knowledge of biological risk, and 97.2%, 80.4% and 45.5% were aware that a vaccine is available for tetanus, hepatitis B and A, respectively. All workers undergone the tetanus vaccination and 39.2% the anti-hepatitis B.
Conclusion: Despite the high probability of exposure to biological agents, the results of the survey revealed a lack of perception and knowledge of the risk, as well as a poor awareness of available preventive measures among construction and agricultural workers. These data point out the need to activate information and training programs on exposure to biological agents and on both emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases potentially related to work activities, and to provide prevention procedures specific for these workplaces.

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How to Cite



[Biological risk in agricultural and construction workers: perception, knowledge and prevention measures]. (2025). Giornale Italiano Di Medicina Del Lavoro Ed Ergonomia, 40(4), 195-202. https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.541
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