The Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine and the travel clinic of the University Hospital of Ghent have registered a steady increase in the number of persons taking vaccinations for long-distance travel in recent years. The Institute of Tropical Medicine registered 36,049 vaccinations last year, as against 34,443 in 2009. Vaccinations at the travel clinic of the University Hospital of Ghent went from 20,706 in 2014 to 21,111 in 2015. Although they dropped to 18,323 in 2016, this was because of the introduction of vaccines that offer lifelong protection and thus only need to be administered once.
In both institutions, the yellow fever vaccine was the one most often administered (53% of all vaccinations in Anvers).
The most requested vaccines in Antwerp were, in addition to yellow fever, those against hepatitis A, polio, typhoid and tetanus-diphtheria. This top 5 has remained unchanged for three years.
In Ghent, the vaccines most sought after, other than yellow fever, were those for typhoid, tetanus-diphtheria and hepatitis A.
The Brussels Times
