Affected Persons in Laboratory Exposures to Human Pathogens and Toxins in Canada, 2016-2024: A Sector-Specific Analysis.

Abstract

Background: Exposures to human pathogens and toxins in licensed facilities in Canada have been monitored by a federal surveillance system since 2015, yet the affected persons (APs) in these incidents remain uncharacterized. This study comprehensively describes APs, highlighting sector-specific patterns and trends over time.

Methods: Public Health Agency of Canada data on APs in exposure incidents between 2016 and 2024 (n = 1058) were analyzed. APs were described by disease outcome (APs who developed a laboratory-acquired infection [LAI]; APs who did not develop an LAI), role, sector, education, years of experience, route of exposure, main activity during exposure, exposure severity, root cause of exposure, occurrence type of exposure, post-exposure interventions and implicated agents.

Results: The majority of APs were in the non-LAI group (96.6%), were technicians/technologists (74.5%), worked in the hospital sector (56.3%), completed a technical/trades college diploma (52.8%), were exposed via inhalation (62.7%), were performing microbiology activities during exposure (75.0%) and sought occupational health consultation within seven days of exposure (61.4%). The distributions of role, education, and route of exposure were most heterogeneous in the academic, other government and veterinary/animal health sectors and least heterogeneous in the hospital and public health sectors.

Conclusions: Distributions of AP-related variables differed across sectors, varying most in the academic, other government, and veterinary/animal health sectors. Study findings contribute to the characterization of APs involved in exposure incidents and may inform future research aimed at identifying factors associated with exposure incidents and LAIs.