Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakiriazi Str,, Larissa, 41222, Greece.
J Occup Med Toxicol. 2010 Feb 10;5(1):1. doi: 10.1186/1745-6673-5-1.
Seafarers play an important role in the transmission of communicable diseases. The aim of the present study is to draw information and identify possible gaps on occupational health practices related to seafarers sailing on ships within the European Union Member States (EU MS) with focus on communicable diseases.
A structured questionnaire was sent to competent authorities from 21 EU MS. The questionnaire included questions about occupational health policies, medical certification of seafarers, communicable diseases reporting and relevant legislation. Descriptive analysis of the data was conducted by the use of Epi Info software: EU MS were categorized in four priority groups (A, B, C, D) based on: number of passenger ships visits, volume of passengers, and number of ports in each country. Moreover, EU MS were categorized to old and new, based on the date of entry in the EU.
All 21 countries with relevant competent authorities responded to the questionnaire. The existence of specific national legislation/regulation/guidelines related to vaccination of seafarers was reported by three out of the 21 (14%) responding authorities. Surveillance data of communicable diseases related to seafarers are collected and analyzed by 4 (19%) authorities. Five out of 21 of the responding countries (24%) reported that tuberculin test result is required for the issuance of seafarer's medical certificate while a great variety of medical examination is required for the issuance of this certificate among countries.Gaps on occupational health services focused on communicable diseases related to maritime occupation have been reported by 33% of the responding countries.Responding authorities from Group A and B had the highest percentage of reported gaps followed by groups C and D. Old MS reported a higher frequency regarding gaps on occupational health services in comparison to new MS.
Our results revealed heterogeneity regarding occupational health of maritime employees in EU MS. This work provides some evidence that further work at international and European level could be considered, in order to explore the potential for harmonized initiatives regarding occupational health of seafarers.
海员在传染病传播中起着重要作用。本研究旨在收集和确定欧盟成员国（EU MS）内航海海员的职业健康实践方面的信息，并确定可能存在的差距，重点关注传染病。
向 21 个欧盟成员国的主管当局发送了一份结构化问卷。问卷中包含有关职业健康政策、海员医疗认证、传染病报告和相关立法的问题。使用 Epi Info 软件对数据进行描述性分析：根据每个国家的客船访问量、旅客量和港口数量，将欧盟成员国分为四个优先组（A、B、C、D）。此外，根据加入欧盟的日期，将欧盟成员国分为新旧两类。
所有 21 个有相关主管当局的国家都对问卷做出了回应。21 个回应当局中有 3 个（14%）报告了与海员接种疫苗有关的具体国家立法/规定/准则。有 4 个（19%）主管当局收集和分析与海员有关的传染病监测数据。21 个回应国中，有 5 个（24%）国家报告称，签发海员医疗证书需要结核菌素试验结果，而各国签发该证书所需的体检种类繁多。33%的回应国报告称，在与航海职业有关的传染病职业健康服务方面存在差距。A 组和 B 组的回应当局报告的差距比例最高，其次是 C 组和 D 组。与新成员国相比，老成员国报告的职业健康服务差距更为频繁。
我们的研究结果显示，欧盟成员国在海员职业健康方面存在差异。这一工作为进一步在国际和欧洲层面开展工作提供了一些证据，以探讨针对海员职业健康问题采取协调一致行动的潜力。
