Recently, as a fundamental measure to systematically prevent
occupational infectious diseases, our Occupational Safety and
Health Research Institute in Korea Occupational Safety and Health
Agency (OSHRI, KOSHA) tried to develop an at-a-glance handbook
about these biological factors. This handbook provides precise
50 Saf Health Work 2014;5:43e52information on biological hazardous agents encountered at the
workplace, to protect workers. More effective classification system
of occupational infectious diseases was presented, thereby distinguishing
biologically hazardous agents, the occupations, industries,
and infectious diseases, and connecting them to the related
workers. Many industries in Korea, which are expected to generate
major infectious occupational-related biological factors, focus on
this handbook that contains information on a total of 60 species and
use it with convenience for practical utility. In conclusion, because
information on biological agents in the workplace is lacking, biological
hazard analyses at the workplace to securely recognize the
harmful factors with biological basis are desperately needed. Modes
of transmission vary depending on the type of organism; some infectious
agents may be transmitted by more than one route: some
are transmitted primarily by direct or indirect contact, while others
are transmitted by droplet, or airborne routes.