QLD Schoolies flirting with health hazards offshore
Queensland school-leavers heading offshore to the exotic hotspots of Bali, Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji and Vanuatu to celebrate ‘Schoolies’ this weekend may be unwittingly exposing themselves to potentially fatal infectious diseases, including rabies, hepatitis A, meningococcal disease, measles, gastrointestinal infections, malaria and dengue.
Today, leading travel health pioneer, Dr Deb Mills, will be urging scores of Queensland Schoolies to ‘travel and party safely’ overseas by following three simple steps:
- Have your shots;
- Pack a medical kit; and
- Learn about the local hazards and how to avoid them, to have a good time.
“Many school-leavers mistakenly think because they have completed their routine childhood vaccines they are protected against various vaccine-preventable diseases. Unfortunately, routine vaccines do not provide sufficient protection for overseas travel,” said Dr Deb.
The Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) estimates 48,500 students will graduate from Queensland high schools this year, many of whom will be oblivious to the potentially fatal health hazards common to their party destinations.
For more information please download the Media release – Media release – QLD Schoolies flirting with health hazards offshore & to download Media case profiles see below;
- PROFILE – Dr Deb Mills – travel dr & Travel Medicine Alliance spokesperson
- PROFILE – Michael 20 victim of unprovoked monkey attack in Bali
- PROFILE – Brittany 19 health not a priority for travelling Schoolie
- PROFILE – Helen 18 succumbs to lure of South Pacific on Schoolies
Download video news release (overlay only) from https://vimeo.com/79078164 using the password ‘schoolies’.
To arrange an interview with Dr Deb or for more information, please contact
Joni Thomes, Kirsten Bruce, or Danielle Cesta from VIVA! Communications on
0430 149 642 / 0401 717 566/ 0439 083 869
This was a very interesting and highly relevant blog post, given the holiday and schoolies season is now upon us.
Caught up in the excitement of graduating school and feeling the freedom of finishing the HSC, it is understandable that young students are forgetting to get the required vaccinations when travelling overseas. It is, however, a troubling issue that must be solved through correct education concerning these potentially fatal diseases. Too many accidents occur overseas, stemming from a lack of education about what to do in medical emergencies, and how to avoid disease outbreaks through correct vaccinations and precautionary measures in these regions.
This blog post was a fantastic example of relevant, insightful public relations in the healthcare sphere, and I think a hugely important message that should be heeded by young high school graduates swept up in the schoolies buzz.
A fascination read.
Dear Ellen,
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