Why your jet-setting colleagues need to be vaccinated against flu.
Few people realise that flu is the commonest travel-associated infection. People are six times more likely to pick up a respiratory infection when they travel than they are at home. This is how flu infection moves seasonally around the globe. Busy airport terminals, the aircraft cabin, crowded buses, conference centres and even the wrong cab driver on the wrong day, can increase the risk. (Cruise ships are closed communities that are especially vulnerable to outbreaks.)
And although flu is seasonal each winter in the northern and southern hemispheres, it occurs year-round in tropical countries, constantly present.
The consequences are not surprising: reduced productivity for people who travel for work; disruption of travel plans and reduced enjoyment for those on holiday; and an increased risk to co-workers and family members on return home.
How many of us travel prepared to treat colds or flu on the go? If we become ill abroad, the simple, familiar remedies we rely on at home – like decongestants and paracetamol – may not be so easy to identify or find.
If you or your work colleagues are travelling abroad this winter, don’t miss out on the easiest, simplest way to protect yourself and those around you: get vaccinated against flu.
