Measles at Work: Status of Measles Vaccination at a Multinational Company

Abstract

Background: This study aims to evaluate the status of measles vaccination among employees working for a multinational company. It also assesses the effectiveness of an on-site prevention campaign. In keeping with the guidelines of the World Health Organization regarding measles awareness, the Federal Office of Public Health in Switzerland aims to eliminate measles by 2020. Methods: A questionnaire about measles vaccination was sent by e-mail and via a fluid survey. Logistic regression models examined the associations between explicative variables and the status of complete measles immunization. The status of complete measles immunization was used as the primary outcome. Results: 17% of the participants were not aware of their measles immunization status, 14% had had only one dose of the vaccination, and only 24% had two doses. Male employees had a lower probability of being vaccinated against measles than women [aOR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.43–0.86]. Employees of Swiss and African origin had a higher probability of being vaccinated than employees of European origin (aOR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.13–3.33). Conclusions: Based on the results of the questionnaire, further efforts are needed to promote measles vaccination through awareness campaigns so that employees become more aware of the importance of measles immunization.