Brehm Thomas Theo, Jordan Sabine, Addo Marylyn M, Ramharter Michael, Kreuels Benno
Division of Infectious Diseases, I. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Germany.
Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & Division of Tropical Medicine, I. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Travel Med Infect Dis. 2022 Jan-Feb;45:102233. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.102233. Epub 2021 Dec 8.
Influenza is the most frequent vaccine-preventable infection in travelers, and both national and international guidelines recommend considering seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) not only for those with risk factors for complications but for all travelers. However, vaccination coverage may be hampered by a lack of awareness among travelers and health care providers and limited vaccine availability outside the local influenza season.
We identified travel health advisors in databases of German medical professional societies and invited them to complete an online questionnaire between April and May 2021.
Among 1085 travel health advisors contacted by email, 253 (23.3%) completed the online questionnaire. Most of them recommend SIV for travelers older than 60 years or those with comorbidities regardless of the travel destination or the influenza season in Germany. However, only very few respondents stated that they had regular access to SIV in June (n = 16, 6.5%), July (n = 10, 4.0%), and August (n = 17, 6.9%), respectively. While most participants (n = 197, 79.4%) stated that they would vaccinate more travelers if they had SIV regularly available outside the German influenza season, only eleven respondents (4.4%) have previously ordered SIV produced for the southern hemisphere, which was attributed mainly to logistic barriers.
Travel health advisors in Germany recommend SIV for a considerable proportion of travelers. While most of them see a necessity to vaccinate throughout the year, availability of SIV outside the German season is very limited. Current organizational barriers must be overcome to increase vaccination coverage among international travelers.
流感是旅行者中最常见的可通过疫苗预防的感染，国家和国际指南均建议，不仅要为有并发症风险因素的人群，还要为所有旅行者考虑接种季节性流感疫苗（SIV）。然而，旅行者和医疗服务提供者缺乏认识以及当地流感季节以外疫苗供应有限，可能会阻碍疫苗接种覆盖率。
我们在德国医学专业协会的数据库中识别出旅行健康顾问，并邀请他们在2021年4月至5月期间完成一份在线问卷。
在通过电子邮件联系的1085名旅行健康顾问中，253人（23.3%）完成了在线问卷。他们中的大多数人建议60岁以上的旅行者或患有合并症的旅行者接种SIV，无论旅行目的地或德国的流感季节如何。然而，只有极少数受访者表示他们在6月（n = 16，6.5%）、7月（n = 10，4.0%）和8月（n = 17，6.9%）分别能常规获取SIV。虽然大多数参与者（n = 197，79.4%）表示，如果在德国流感季节以外能常规获取SIV，他们会为更多旅行者接种疫苗，但只有11名受访者（4.4%）此前订购过为南半球生产的SIV，这主要归因于物流障碍。
德国的旅行健康顾问建议相当一部分旅行者接种SIV。虽然他们中的大多数人认为全年接种疫苗很有必要，但德国流感季节以外SIV的供应非常有限。必须克服当前的组织障碍，以提高国际旅行者的疫苗接种覆盖率。
