Survey finds travelers taking more health precautions because of flu worries

Survey finds travelers taking health precautions

BOSTON — More than half of adult travelers say they are taking more precautions against flu this year compared to last year, according to a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health.

Eighty-one percent of adults who traveled by plane, bus, train or cruise ship in the past year said they will sneeze into their elbow rather than their hands on their next trip, compared to 64 percent who said they took this precaution on their last trip.

Seventy-six percent said they would bring hand sanitizer with them in carry-on baggage, compared to 61 percent who said they did so last year, and 49 percent said they would get a seasonal flu vaccine to prevent catching the flu while traveling, compared to 35 percent who said they did so last year.

The survey also found that 96 percent of travelers wash their hands frequently to avoid germs.

Public health campaigns have been under way to promote these practices since the outbreak of swine flu or H1N1 earlier this year.

Travelers are more worried about contracting flu in airplanes than in other modes of transportation, with 52 percent of those surveyed saying they were very concerned or somewhat concerned that they or a family member would get sick with H1N1 or seasonal flu while traveling by plane in the next year.

The telephone poll was conducted by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, Nov. 12-18, among 1,124 adults who had traveled by plane, bus, train or cruise ship in the previous year. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.