Protecting business travellers: ensuring they return to work fit and healthy

Are you ensuring your staff are properly vacinated before going overseas? Dr Tony Gherardin explains what your company should do before sending staff on business trips.

Australian business professional’s today travel further, and at shorter notice, to more remote areas than ever before.

Travelling for business can be stressful, always on the go, only carrying the essentials and last minute changes to the itinerary. So why let employees picking up a travel illness be an added stress to the business trip? Not to mention the ongoing consequences if a member of staff is delayed returning to the workforce following sickness contracted while overseas.

Travelling to unfamiliar places with different hygiene standards can mean an increased risk of illness if not appropriately vaccinated. New research by Sanofi Pasteur shows that over two thirds (72%) of employees aren’t receiving vaccinations prior to travelling for business[1], despite frequently travelling to at risk regions in Asia and India where diseases such as typhoid, rabies and hepatitis A are all endemic.[2]

There is often a misconception that because business travellers are staying in reputable hotels usually for only a few days, there are no health risks. But travellers may still get sick from food and water illness, respiratory tract infections, insect-borne illness, STIs and of course accidents can still occur. Because of this, there is an increased need and importance for employers to protect the health of their staff while overseas and ensure they are appropriately vaccinated.

Employers need to consider the threat posed by illness to their business if the necessary health precautions aren’t taken prior to sending their staff overseas. In fact, they are obliged to protect their traveling staff under relevant OH&S legislation. Failure to properly manage the health risks of travelling employees can lead to legal exposure, productivity loss, compromise employee health, add unnecessary costs and cause disruption to major projects.

Basic vaccines of hepatitis A and hepatitis B are essential, and depending on location, malaria may still be an issue. Employers have a responsibility to providetravel safety advice to their employees and deliver optimal preparation for overseas business travel regardless of the length of stay. This can include fitness assessments, medical kits, travel insurance, and vaccinations depending upon destinations.

If you’re not sure what you’re up against? An online resource, www.travellers-help.com, provides an interactive map that will tell you what diseases are most prevalent at any travel destination worldwide and what vaccinations are therefore required.

Protecting yourself or employees from these diseases is straight forward. It simply requires a visit to a local doctor four to six weeks prior to departure.  But what can you do to minimise the chances of falling ill when travelling overseas? I have prepared the following tips:

·         Check vaccinations before you go
Getting up-to-date advice is key. Expert travel health advisers, like Travel Doctor-TMVC are available for specific advice,  www.traveldoctor.com.au  Remember that vaccines do not necessarily cover you for life. Check with   your doctor to see whether you are due for a booster shot and make sure you are protected.

·         Avoid tap water and ice
Don’t drink local water, only use bottled or boiled water to drink and brush your teeth and always check the seal on the bottles. Don’t put ice in drinks — it’s an easy one to forget but freezing preserves germs, rather than kills them.

·         Eat only well-cooked food
Avoid uncooked food, including salads and fruit that you cannot peel.

·         Take a medical kit
It’s helpful to carry a small medical kit, include items such as headache tablets, antacids, antiseptic lotion, cotton wool, band aids, latex gloves, safety pins, SPF 30+ sunscreen and an appropriate insect repellent.