Abstract
BackgroundMedical students are at risk of contracting and transmitting infectious diseases such as pertussis. Complete vaccination status is important to protect own, patient and public health. Knowing own vaccination status is elementary for following current vaccination recommendations, including boosters. We aimed to assess pertussis vaccination status and vaccination acceptance among medical students of different nationalities.MethodsA cross-sectional multicenter health survey at German and Hungarian universities enclosed international medical students in the 1st, 3rd and 5th year of study. Self-reported data from 2655 students regarding pertussis vaccination status were analyzed. Subgroup analysis enclosed data of German (n = 1217), Hungarian (n = 960) and other nationality (n = 478) students (“other”).ResultsMore Hungarians reported basic immunization (39.0% vs 15.8% Germans vs 24.3% others, p ≤ 0.05). Booster vaccination was reported more by Germans (60.5% vs 43.6% Hungarians vs 36.0% others, p ≤ 0.05). Germans were more likely to report being unvaccinated (3.7% vs 0.9% Hungarians, p ≤ 0.05). More medical students of other nationalities were unaware of their pertussis vaccination status (37.4% vs 20.0% Germans/ 16.5% Hungarians, p ≤ 0.05). 75.2% (n = 1931) rated pertussis vaccinations as absolutely necessary (86.2% Hungarians vs 69.8% Germans/ 66.1% others, p ≤ 0.05).ConclusionsPositive attitudes towards vaccinations were reported but a large group reported insufficient vaccination status and being not aware of their status, especially among international students. Hungarians possibly have a better vaccination status than reported, based on mandatory vaccinations in childhood. The low awareness of vaccination status has implications for future booster vaccinations. All students should be informed about current recommendations and receive vaccination offers in frames of low-threshold medical services.
Highlights
Medical students are at risk of contracting and transmitting infectious diseases such as pertussis
The results of this study showed that medical students, regardless of their origin, had very positive attitudes towards vaccinations
Our study identified a large group of medical students with insufficient vaccination and of students that are not aware of their vaccination status
Summary
Medical students are at risk of contracting and transmitting infectious diseases such as pertussis. Complete vaccination status is important to protect own, patient and public health. We aimed to assess pertussis vaccination status and vaccination acceptance among medical students of different nationalities. Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial disease which can be prevented by vaccination. Since the introduction of the pertussis vaccine in the 1950s, the incidence and mortality rate have decreased drastically, especially in the industrial world. Pertussis still poses a big threat to public health. In regions with high vaccination rates (≥90%), such as major parts of Europe, the United States and Canada, the number of pertussis infections has been increasing again [3, 4]. There are regional differences: While Germany reported more than 12,000 cases
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