Rotavirus (RV) was a common healthcare-associated infection prior to the introduction of the RV vaccine. Following widespread RV vaccination, healthcare-associated rotavirus cases are rare. We describe an investigation of a cluster of rotavirus infections in a pediatric hospital in which an uncommon genotype not typically circulating in the United States was detected.

Every year on April 28, Workers Memorial Day, we honor those who have suffered injury, illness, and death on the job. Great strides have been made in workplace safety and health since Dr. Alice Hamilton and her colleagues began their historic investigation of occupationally related illnesses, as chronicled in her book, Exploring the Dangerous Trades.1 However, as long as the cost of any job is an injury, illness, or death that results in physical, financial, or emotional hardship for a worker or a worker's family, we fall short as a nation. | There is no doubt that workplace hazards such as asbestos, coal-mine dust, and industrial chemicals still exist as in the days of Dr. Hamilton, despite great advancements in controlling exposures and reducing the toll of job-related impairment, disability, and death. However, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and its partners must not only deal with these legacy hazards, but also recognize new challenges resulting from the evolving nature of work as we move toward 2020 and beyond. | The pace of technological change and the rapid diffusion of information require a vigilant eye to recognize emerging hazards often before their risks are fully understood or characterized. For example, novel materials such as nanoparticles have potential implications for worker health risk that have not been fully defined. There are also likely exposures to toxic materials in relatively new “downstream” processes (e.g., electronic-waste recycling) where the hazards may not be well recognized.

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) semisubmersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit, located 45 miles southeast off the Louisiana coast, suffered a massive explosion and subsequent fire that ultimately led to the sinking of the Unit. Eleven workers lost their lives as a result of the explosion and fire, and seventeen other workers were injured. Oil from a subsea blowout began flowing into the Gulf of Mexico soon after the explosion, and continued to flow until the well was finally capped on July 15, 2010. | Since that day in April, tens of thousands of workers have engaged in the on- and offshore containment and cleanup activities as part of the DWH response. These workers were deployed by a wide array of response organizations from various federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private businesses and contractors and volunteer organizations. The workers were geographically spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico region in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and were engaged in a range of potentially hazardous activities. Such circumstances presented significant challenges to those who had responsibility for protecting the workers' health and safety.