JUST 23 PER cent of people who travelled to at-risk countries in the past two years got vaccinated against preventable diseases.
The survey of 1000 adults aged 16 and over was undertaken on behalf of Sanofi Pasteur MSD by Behaviour & Attitudes (B&A).
Exotic countries
It revealed that 15 per cent of Irish adults recently travelled to an exotic country where vaccinations would be recommended, such as Asia, Africa, South America and Central America.
Just 62 per cent of travellers felt vaccinations are an important precaution when travelling. Younger adults under the age of 25 were the most pro-active about their health and the most concerned about catching diseases while abroad. Just 7 per cent of those aged over 65 thought vaccinations were important.
However, the research, launched as part of the Healthy Travel information campaign, shows that Irish people are rather complacent about ranking the importance of getting vaccinated. Travellers ranked vaccinations as the fourth most important element of travel preparation.
Priorities
Booking travel insurance was deemed the most important at 59 per cent, while 35 per cent said conducting online research and 19 per cent said getting a haircut was more important to do before travelling.
One-in-eight people in Ireland or 13 per cent know someone who has contracted an infectious disease while overseas.
Speaking about the results, Dr Jack Lambert, Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the Mater and Rotunda Hospitals said:
Travellers to at-risk countries need to be more vigilant when it comes to their travel health, especially as this research highlights that one-in-eight people know someone who has contracted a preventable infectious disease while abroad.A pre-travel health assessment for advice on preventative measures including vaccination, insect bite avoidance, good food and water hygiene should be on the top of your travel checklist to ensure you get the most out of your trip, especially when going to locations where diseases uncommon in Ireland can be contracted easily.
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