Consumers assoc.: Vaccination advise for travelers often wrong

Professional information and advise about health risks and vaccinations for traveling to tropical places often leaves something to be desired, according to a study by consumers association Consumentenbond. Mystery shoppers visited 20 doctors and vaccination centers and something was wrong or missing in every one of the consultations, AD reports. Many of the consultations did not cover any major hygiene recommendations. In some cases vaccines for hepatitis B and rabies were recommended, while they were not necessary. In 16 of the 20 consultations no information was given about the side effects of the recommended vaccinations or pills. One mystery shopper pretended to be going to Peru and the Amazon area. He was told that a hepatitis A vaccination was unnecessary, as he had one in 2010. But hepatitis A vaccinations must be repeated. "A serious miss by the consultant, because the hepatitis A virus can cause a highly contagious infection of the liver", according to the researchers. Only a handful informed travelers that mosquito repellent should be used during day time in some areas, for example against dengue- or yellow fever transmitting mosquitoes. At least all four doctors who spoke to pregnant mystery shoppers wanting to go to Suriname warned them of zika fever, even though one doctor said he wasn't too worried about it.